Paper Moon
by OneMoreTragicEnding
Summary: Roxas; a poor boy, beaten to the point of giving up. Sora; The boy who might just be able to save him. RATED for chapter 21!
1. The Only Way

Phlyx: Hello, and welcome to a new ShounenAi by An-Chan, called Paper Moon! The pairing will be SoraXRoxas, of course.

Summary: Roxas; a poor boy, beaten to the point of giving up. Sora; the boy who might just be able to save him.

So yeah, I hope you enjoy, but these might be updated slower, for I also have to work on Fall Into Your Sunlight =3

* * *

**Paper Moon**

**Chapter One**

**The Only Way**

* * *

There was silence in the morning, it made everything calm, but it put me on edge. Every sound that was made would make everything seem _too quiet._

It was never like that at home. Not usually, anyways. But here I am, and it was quiet enough to make me jittery. No yelling, no father to beat me, no nothing. So, keeping an ear open and holding the strap of my school bag tightly, I walk down the long staircase, turning warily to the kitchen.

My father is a drunk. That's all he does with his time, or he smokes whichever drug his dealer has given him. Sometimes its both.

He becomes very violent when he's drunk or high. My mother has a gambling problem. A bad one. She used to have a fortune left to her by her late grandparents, but she spent it all in a Casino, thinking she was destined to earn a jackpot. They're both unemployed.

Taking the initiative, I have part-time jobs, even if I'm fifteen and technically the age is sixteen. But they always take the money I earn, so we're really tight.

As I look into the shabby kitchen, I notice why they're not making a sound.

My mother is on the floor, passed out – she probably snuck a few drinks from my father or something – and my father is hitting the happy juice hard. At seven in the morning.

He's the only person I know that can get drunk in the morning.

Trying not to attract attention, I walk towards the front door of our shabby apartment.

But my father can hear me walk no matter how quiet I am trying to be. And usually, when I can't sneak out to get to school and he spots me, I end up with a few bruises.

And the routine continues. Closing my eyes to not see his bloodshot eyes, his feral and wild face that looks nothing like me, back up against the wall, and sucking up the torture, as always. It's nothing that I haven't learned to live with. But sometimes it's hard to hide what he does, especially on my face, since my skin is very pale and his bruises include my cheeks and my eyes often enough. I end up lying to whoever asks what happens.

Not to protect them. No, my parents can go to hell.

Just because I can't bring myself to say it.

Spitting out blood from my mouth as I walk along the sidewalk, not giving eye contact with anyone, my head bent down to look at my shoes, as if I'm ashamed with myself.

I hide in an alley, school can kiss my ass for the day. I bring my legs up underneath my chin, wincing from the protest my body is screaming as I rest my chin on my knees.

Always so afraid.

I'm too afraid to run away. And I'm too afraid of selling them out.

But if this continues, I'll end up dead by my father's hand.

You see, my parents never wanted a child. I was an accident, a mistake, that's what they always say. They always drag me down.

To top it off, I don't have any friends, no relatives, no one to help me. I'm on my own.

It's been that way from the start.

* * *

_New p.o.v_

Everything in the part of the city I'm in is quite shabby. Then again, I rarely leave home. But once in a while, it doesn't hurt. There aren't many people out on the streets, other than a few men and women walking to or from their house, and a boy about my age, with his head bent down. As I walk by him, I stop after he passes me and stare at him. From what I can tell from his bare arms, he has a lot of bruises. I saw him leave one of the most shabbiest apartments, with just a small, quick glimpse of his face. He looked scared.

I turn around and follow some distance away from the boy. He seems to be headed to school, at first glance, but he turns into an alleyway instead. I told my head to the side, curious more than anything. He reminds me of myself a little. Lost and scared.

I pause at the edge of the building, looking into the alleyway. He sits down on the cold ground and brings up his legs to his chest, his chin resting on them. His eyes have a blank look in them, as if he's given up on everything.

I walk into the alley warily. He doesn't spot me until I stop a few feet from him, watching him.

He looks up at me, eyes both wary and haunted. Our eyes meet, and I have a sense of recognition as I look at him, as if I know him from somewhere. His gaze is very confused, afraid more than anything, however.

I take another two steps towards him, crouching on my toes beside the strange boy.

"What happened?" I ask him, a little worried for him. He looks very thin from what I can see, and he's shaking.

He looks away from me.

"None of your concern." He says icily. He's used to being asked that question, I can tell.

I sit down beside him, looking at him.

"Okay, I guess I started off wrong." I scratch the back of my head, smiling a bit. "My name is Sora. What's yours?"

He looks at me from the corner of his eyes.

"Why do you want to know?" He asks, turning to look at me.

"Because you seem like a very nice person." I tell him, which is true. I have a very good sense of what people are like. Takes one look at them for me to know their entire character. "But you are afraid of a lot of things, and you've given up on everything, on hope."

He stares at me a while, trying to see if I'm kidding. I keep eye contact, unafraid to show my sincerity.

"It's Roxas." He says after a while. I hold out my hand to him, making him flinch.

"It's nice to meet you." I tell him. From the haunted look in hi eyes, I can tell he thought I was going to hit him, which makes me a little sad.

Warily he takes my hand, shaking it.

"So, can I ask what happened?" I ask after he lets go of my hand. He wraps his arms around his legs.

"I… I can't."

"You're afraid to sell them out, aren't you?" He looks stunned as the words leave my lips. "From what I can tell, it's a normal occurrence in your life. And you've never told anyone because you're afraid that whoever did this to you will find out you told, and you'll be in bigger trouble."

"…yeah." He says softly. "He's ruthless… he doesn't want me around."

I want to comfort him, but I'm thinking he wouldn't like that. So I stay where I am.

"They never wanted me… I've known that from the start." He sighs shakily. "I've tried suicide a few times, but I've never been able to."

"Don't do that." He looks at me as I speak. "You may have been unwanted, but there's a reason you exist, Roxas." The words flow off my tongue easily, his name even easier, as if I've been saying it all my life. "There's someone who'll appreciate you, even if they don't."

"No one does." He closes his eyes again, hugging his knees to himself tighter. "My family doesn't want me, and no one wants to be my friend. I'm all alone in this."

I bite my lip in thought. Smiling I stand up and hold out my hand to him.

"I'll be your friend." His confusion is marked clearly on his face, and he doesn't believe my words. "No one has to be alone, and I believe it would be an honor to be your friend, Roxas."

"Can I ask you something?" I nod, and he takes my hand, wincing as I help him up. "Just who are you?"

"Sora Hikari, at your service." I smile widely. "Wanna come back home with me? I'm sure you'll like it."

He just stares at me, stunned.

"Come on!" I pull him along.

* * *

_Roxas_

It's hard to believe, really. Here I am, being dragged by a _Hikari_, of all people. Everyone in this town knows that name.

It's the name of the Royal family, and mostly everyone is afraid of them. They have a large amount of power, enough to erase your face off the globe, for crying out loud!

Just what the hell is going on?

He pulls me inside a lavish gate, and down a paved path within the gates.

The brunette slows down as we get to a marble staircase leading into his… house, if you will, though it looks like a castle to me. It's just that huge.

But I can't deny the fact that I've seen the boy somewhere before. I just don't know where.

"Have you ever tried to run away?" He asks me suddenly as he pulls me down a large hallway.

"I've never had the guts to, really. My father is… frightening." I tell him. He turns cerulean eyes to look at me.

"I think I can help you, then."

I stare at him blankly, confused.

"You can stay, if you want." He smiles at me. "I wouldn't mind in the least; it would give me someone to pass the time with."

"You live here alone?"

"Yeah, mostly. Other than the maid, the cook, and the head butler here. They're always busy, so I don't really get to do much with other people. My parents never come by, and if they do, it's very rarely."

"But I… it's… you don't have-"

"I want to!" He smiles at me.

Have I gone mad? I like to think so.

* * *

And voila! I hope you'll enjoy the story, and I'll post up when I have the time.


	2. The Heart's Weakness

**Paper Moon**

**Chapter Two**

**The Heart's Weakness**

* * *

_Sora_

It's hard to believe my eyes, with what I can see right in front of me. It's frightening me, but it must be worse for him.

"By the gods, child, what happened?" The maid cries as she examines his arm. He was in a lot of pain, and she is technically also my nurse, so I brought him to see her.

Yet even I am surprised at the extent of his injuries.

His eyes are wary again, trying to figure out if she'll hurt him. I had to hold him as she had taken off his shirt and pants so she could see his injuries. Now, he's just standing there freezing a little, in nothing but his underwear. I'd laugh if it wasn't for the fact that his bruises extend all the way to his ankles.

"And don't tell me 'nothing happened' either!" May says with wild concern after he'd mumbled those very words. "I can see very well that your 'nothing' is more serious than even you know!"

In fact, the only place he has no injuries, if you look at it, is his hair. The rest is all covered in black fist-sized bruises, a few raw red ones, and so many on his back that he barely has any skin color left on it. That, and his left hand has two broken fingers.

May starts cleaning the worst ones, which are all centered on his back. I'm sitting in front of him, while he gives me a look of wild desperation.

"Don't worry about it Roxas." I smile. "May is a nurse as well as my maid. Once she goes into nurse mode, you're just another patient to her. She won't tell anyone."

"O... okay." He looks to his hands on his lap, and I can see he's cradling his left hand slightly, since it hurts him.

He hisses as she passes a cloth soaked in rubbing alcohol, hands clenching into fists. To comfort him I place my own hands over his own, and smile at him when he looks up at me.

"I can guess what you're thinking... a lot of people think I'm like my father." I start evenly, keeping everything bottled up behind my smile. "You're wondering why I'm not like him, aren't you?"

"I wasn't... well... yeah." He admits, looking down to my hands that are still over his. "Your father is well known for being like that - I never knew he had a son."

"You can say he keeps me hidden from the world." I look at my hands as well, my smile melting. "He wishes I was dead."

"I'm sorry." He holds back another hiss as May cleans another wound. "But I'm glad you'e not like your father." He smiles.

* * *

_Third person_

"So, miss Strife, you say your son has yet to return home?" The man asks, holding the notepad on his lap as he writes the things she says down.

"Well, yes. He usually gets in trouble once a day at school, so the school calls us once a day to tell us he's on his way home early. He'd be home by now, and I got a phone call from the school telling me he never showed up." She dabs a kleenex on her eyes, her mascara running and making her look a little clown-like. Angelina looks back at the man while her husband paces behind her chair. "We just want our darling son home."

The investigator nods, as another one searches through the house.

"He's unpredictable. Ungrateful." Robert Strife supplies, hands slamming onto the table. "He never appreciates what we do for him, always sprouting nonsense to himself - I heard him talking to himself once in his room about running away! I wouldn't put it past him that he'd very well try."

"Does he have any close friends? Someone he'd tell this to?" The investigator asks as his parter looks through a well-worn book, frowning to herself.

"No. The kids at school barely talk to him, and most of them beat him up, which is how he gets into trouble so much is when he fights back." Angelina looks to the investigator. "Please, I just want my son back."

"We'll do what we can." He gets up from the chair he'd been sitting on, and puts his notepad into an inside coat pocket. "We'll find your son."

* * *

_Roxas_

I'm sure this is a dream. Sora's too nice to me, a total stranger, someone who isn't even royal or close to his rank.

But then again, I've never had a friend. Maybe that's what friends do for each other.

I search through the school bag I have with me since this morning while I wait in some sort of fancy living room, frowning when I don't find my very well-worn book.

"Did I leave it back home?" I ask myself, sighing. If father ever found it...

"Leave what?" Sora walks in with a plate of food stacked with sandwiches, placing it down onto the coffee table before he sits down hard beside me.

"A book, you could say." I wince slightly as I turn myself a little to see him better. "It's one I... wrote myself."

"You write?" He asks, eyes sparkling with curiosity as he takes a slice of the sandwiches. "You can take some, you know. They don't bite."

Nodding, I slowly take one, my arms and back still sore from the maid's job on my wounds.

"A little." My eyes fall downcast a moment. "But it's one about a true story... I was writing about my life back home and at school. If my parents ever found it..."

"You wrote everything that's happened to you in it?" He asks after finishing his slice rather quickly, taking another.

"Just about..." I take a tentative bite, a little surprised when I find it tastes like a cucumber sandwich.

"Well, then, how about this?" With a grin he holds up one finger. "You can write another!"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, having a memento like that follow you everywhere you go must be rather tiresome, no?"

"I guess... I didn't really like bringing it all over the place with me, but I did just because I didn't want my parents finding it."

"Sooooo..." He drags on the word as he bounces up and down on his seat. "Write another one, but this time make it about something happy! I'm happy, I met an author!" He smiles from ear to ear. "If you don't mind... can I know how you wrote one part? I'm curious..."

Laughing slightly - when was the last time I did _that?_ - I nod. He hands me a nearby pen and paper, so, having remembered every detail since I always re-read what I wrote before going to sleep, I write word for word the last bit I'd written.

I give it to him when I'm done, and I read it over his shoulder silently, knowing it word for word.

His lower lip starts quivering slightly, and his hands shake a little, until when I figure he's finished reading it he drops it and surprises me - he hugs me, his head hidden underneath my chin.

I can feel my neck getting a little wet, so I figure he's crying. A pang of guilt invades me at that, so I return his slightly shaky embrace, arms around his shaking back.

"I'm sorry!" He cries out. "I shouldn't have asked - it' something everyone would want to forget. To the fact that you're still holding onto those memories-"

"It's alright." I smile, trying to comfort him. "You know what? I've never laughed like this in such a long time, nor have I even smiled." He lifts his head up slightly so that I can see his cerulean eyes brimmed red, mirror-like.

"Really?" He asks, voice thick. I nod.

"If I get to have you as a friend, I think I can let go of those memories, which are basically almost everything I have thus far."

He smiles, and even though he isn't crying, he hugs himself to me again, cheek resting on my collarbone. I raise an eyebrow.

"Can I stay a little longer?" He asks me out of the blue. "You're comfy."

I laugh to myself. If this is what a friend is, then I think I could get used to having one.

"Go right ahead."

All the while he had dropped the paper with the offending words into the fire burning softly in the fireplace, the words being burned into Oblivion.

_If life ever was a gift, then I do not know why mine should be considered one. Father doesn't ever cease, mother... well, I won't go there. Sure, some may think my will to not tell the authorities what they do as love for my family, but I can honestly say that is not so. Probably because I feel nothing for them. I've never been given this 'love', therefore, I do not know how to give it, either. But all I feel for them is a hollow emptiness that grows and grows. Maybe as a child I felt something for them, but now, as a fifteen year old, I can see in their eyes they both just wish I was dead. I'm nothing but dead skin, a waste of space._

_I wish I could do that. The gods know just how many times I've tried in the past year. I want to, even now, so that I may not live through this another moment. But it's like if something is stopping me. The promise of something far greater than this, something that can save me from all this pain and darkness._

_But gods know I want to use that knife._

"Thank you." I hear him sigh softly.

* * *

By the gods, doesn't poor Roxie have such emo thoughts? I like it because I made the two of them have so much in common without realizing it. That's subconscious writing for you XD

Sora: Yay! Hug! (^w^)

Stay tuned for the next chappy =3 I'm off to work on it right now.


	3. Hikari And Yami

Thank you to Scarletnight13, Poseidon's-Princess, the Poet's Raven, OneDestiny5 and Moe10 for such enjoyable reviews thus far on a story I was sure wouldn't be as good as my usual work (mostly because my fanfiction writing skills are still at mile 0) and I am glad you all enjoy **Paper Moon** thus far, and I hope I will continue to entertain you with this story =3

* * *

**Paper Moon**

**Chapter Three**

**Darkness And Light**

_Sora_

"Umm... what is this?" I laugh a little as I see his confused expression, cerulean eyes showing nothing but that as he looks at the control in his hands.

"It's a controller." I tell him, skidding a little closer so I can show him how it works. Introducing him to video games isn't as easy as I've thought it'd be thus far. "See, you press this button to make the character jump, and you use this to make them move."

"That still tells me just about nothing about the rest of this contraption." He says as he looks at me. "Honestly, I've never even seen one of these things."

"You'll enjoy it once you get the hang of it." I tell him, going on to explain rather quickly how the rest of the remote works. He nods after a while.

"Okay, I think I got it." He grins.

"Just remember that jumping into a hole doesn't count as finishing the level." I remind him.

"That's no fun." He whines as he chooses his character. I laugh.

Of course, so to speak, he falls into the first hole we encounter. But it doesn't really matter. We both just laugh and continue on, the sky outside the windows slowly darkening into the sunset. He eventually manages to attack without falling into a hole or blowing himself up, and pretty soon he's just about good at it.

I look out the window at some point to see the sky a glorious shade of orange, pink and red, as if the sky was on fire. Letting out a little squeak of exitement, I drop the controller and grab his wrist, pulling him along.

"Where are we going?" He asks, running to try and keep pace so I don't rip his arm from its socket.

"I want to show you something!" I laugh, turning sharply around a corner and run up the staircase, stopping shortly at the top to open a door to the left. I go behind him and push him through the door, he a little confused at my eagerness.

Around the edge of the balcony I make him divert his attention to the west horizon.

"Why were you so exited?" He asks as he looks to where I'm pointing, falling into silence as his eyes fall onto the sky.

"Because sunsets are my favorite." I tell him simply, walking to stand beside him, stomach leaning over the railing. "Mother used to bring me onto this balcony to watch them every day." I say silently. "They were the best moments of my life. I loved my mother."

He stays quiet, but somehow I can tell he's listening. I can just tell.

"She would always tell me this story about the sun while we watched the sun set. I adored listening to it, so she told me it once a week, on a Wednesday. Wednesdays were my favorite days of the week." I smile. "She was like the sun herself... her hair always seemed to shine, with her blue eyes lighting up the way."

"You talk as if she's gone..." He says gently, hand against the railing beside my own, our little fingers barely brushing against each other. "Did she...?"

"It was my father who started it." I close my eyes. "He was arguing with me about being useless, how I couldn't live up to even a fragment of his expectations. But he didn't understand that drawing is my life, and that the piano was the thing I enjoyed the most. He said he'd disown me for being so useless, and he'd have another son somehow. Mother took up my defense, saying how he should stop looking at what he wanted to see, open his eyes, and see what was truly there, what truly shined. She was like that... caring."

He leans his arms on the railing, his chin resting on them as his eyes continue to watch the sunset.

"Your father... he sounds like my mother and father mixed into one being."

"That's how he's like. He told mother to go out for a walk and cool her head down. She did." I bite my lower lip. "She was shot on that walk."

Standing back up with his hands on the railing supporting him, he puts a comforting hand on my own.

"It was on my birthday, exactly one year ago."

"When's your birthday?" He asks me silently, watching as the fire in the sky dwindles.

"It's today. She used to tell me a special story on my birthday, one about the sun and the moon."

"Can I hear it?" He asks. I nod. (A.N.:This is a story I did in history class for myths about the sun&moon, got an A+ on it, and I figured it depicts them both very well, albeit in a hidden way. Hope you enjoy it XD I don't know what went through me to put it here, though.)

_"Back before where darkness ruled the world, two tribes fought for dominance over the lands. There was the Phoenix clan of the light, with the daring yet glorious Phoenix as their clan animal, and the Lunar clan of the Wolves, with the wolf as their clan guide. Both forbade each other to speak to the other clan, unless if it was in an act of war. The darkness hated the light, and the light detested the darkness._

_"Two girls, however, put their very lives on the line to speak together. They were well gifted with the otherworldly arts, one of which included speaking to the animals that existed at the time, which weren't many. One was named Amaterasu, and she was always followed by her friend the Phoenix. The other was named Luna, and she always enjoyed the company of her wolfen friend. The two met during the hunting breaks of their clans, and were quickly enough the best of friends._

_"One day as they spoke, they were followed by the clan's teller, who always told the village chief about any mischief, in hopes of gaining something from his tales. He saw them talking and laughing together, and with a smile, knowing full well that the punishment for this was decapacitation, he left to tell the village chiefs of both clans, who were in a meet to decide something quite trivial._

_"The girls were surrounded soon enough by spears and rough swords all around them, their animal companions hissing and growling at the offending points. The chiefs pointed accusing fingers at the girls, who did not deny anything, but rather agreed to the accusations._

_"'You may kill me if you shall.' Amaterasu said, proud and bold, the very essence of fire itself. 'But know that it will change nothing, for you all fight within a useless war that will only end up in the annihilation of yourselves. We are all people, therefore, we are all the same, and we are all free. This darkness is the only reason you fight, it feeds your desire for blood to be spilt on the innocent Earth. So, should I die, I will make sure that I will light up this world with firery light, so as to light the way for all of you to be at peace.'_

_"'The same will go for me.' Luna says, always the quiet and shy one. 'You may cut us down both, but that shall only be another death on your hands, one you shall bitterly regret some day. I will light up the darkness which Amaterasu cannot light, and I will be a home for all who seek shelter. We are not afraid to fight for our cause!'_

_"In slight bloodlust the teller grabs a sword from a person to his left and cries out as the two young girls stand there to face their punishment, their heads loping off their bodies, but not dying._

_"As they promised, a great ball of fire lit up the sky, showering them with unfamiliar light that burned slightly at their skin. Within the newly blue sky the sillhouette of the moon, as tiny as an eye in the sky but just as powerful as its friend, waited in the shadows of the sun for its own time to shine."_

He remains silent a moment, lost in thought as the last of the sun dipped below the horizon. The memory of everything I used to do with mother flashing over and over in my mind.

Arms wrap around me and my head, halfway of its own accord, leans against his collarbone, a slightly fluttery feeling in my stomach. I know its nothing to do with nausea, mostly because I feel so comfortable leaning there.

"Thank you." He says, and I can hear his heart beating gently underneath my ear, but the beat is slightly irregular, jumpy. It matches mine to the letter.

"For what?" I ask, slightly confused. He laughs a little to himself.

"For the gift. It just so happens it's my birthday today too." I look up at him. "Happy birthday Sora."

But the way he says my name makes me hide my head again, slightly flustered with my face feeling a little warm. He says it so softly, so smoothly, as if he's practiced before.

"And it's the second best gift I could have ever asked for." I look back up at him from the top of my eyes.

"What's the best one?" I ask, somehow a little miffed.

"Getting to have a friend." He says simply, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

I smile to myself and hide my eyes again.

"Happy birthday Roxas." I say, my stomach feeling a little more fluttery now, doing a flip as I say his name. I could say it forever.

* * *

Awww, I love Sora's p.o.v. It's easy to write in this story =3

Stay tuned for more soon! Maybe another chappy today if I want.


	4. A Reason

**Paper Moon**

**Chapter Four**

**A Reason**

_Third Person_

"There is something you must know, inspector." The woman sitting beside the man within the car as they drove away from the Strife residence flipped through an old book. He looks at her briefly as he waits at a red light.

"What is it, Martine?" He asks, turning left as the light turns green.

"I think those people were lying through their teeth. Listen to this book." She turns the page to a rather old entry. "_'In his eyes all I can see is hatred. He's cold and cruel, and he kept repeating **Why won't you die?** as he beat me. I can't feel my hand anymore, I've tried blocking his blows but it does nothing to help. He's strong when he's drunk. And mother won't help me, much as I wish she would. She's too busy getting her wallet emptied. Am I even allowed to wish for a better life, or is that reserved for someone who deserves it more than me? I must have done something really terrible in some past life, hurt someone so much that I deserve this now. And that knife, it still sits on my dresser, taunting me. I held it to my throat again, too, but my hands shook so much and I couldn't do it. I can't give that man his wish, much as I want to. It's a curse I'll die from, I can't continue like this. I'm so scared of him that I'm avoiding him now, and I lock my door to make sure he doesn't try to give me another beating as I sleep, or try to choke me, though I know he always beats me slowly and painfully. Giving me a quick end would be too easy, would it? Maybe that's why I can't make myself do it._

_'And no one is here to help me get through it. I don't want to go on like this. Someone, anyone would do... just get me out of this hell.'_" Martine takes a shaky breath and wipes her eyes. "There are many entries like this... it looks like a diary."

"Are you sure it's not a fictional story by a teen who thinks he deserves better?" Luther asks skeptically. In response she clears her throat sarcastically.

"_'It's really painful today. I came home early from school, mostly because I was shoved quite painfully into a locker by the usual gang of teenagers and it hurt me much more than lately, so I cried out, sure that a bone had snapped. They laughed and did it again, causing me to strike back out of reflex and hit one square in the jaw. And though I know it did no damage, they told the nearest adult they could find, and lo and behold, you're going home Strife.' _I can't believe he takes the time to tell a joke while in pain. _'Father was furious, as he always is when I get home. He took my left hand and threw me onto the ground. I backed up into the corner of the room, but all that did was help him keep me in one place as he starts to kick me. I didn't cry out, I don't give him the satisfaction of sound or tears, but when I get into my room, I always curl up into the corner and I start to cry, trying to stop the bleeding, the pain. I try to hide the blood on my bed - my wounds open up at night most times - and on the ground whenever I try to use that knife, but most of the time I can't. There's a bloody handprint on my pillow I can't get rid of, and I think my left hand is broken. I wrapped it up earlier to help it set properly, but by the gods it hurts so much. The ink is running off the page, I'm crying again. Remembering all of this is hard, and keeping it with me is so much harder. I hope there's a solution soon, because I don't know how much more of this I can take before I end up dying at my father's hand._

_'But I'm starting to loose hope.'_"

Luther stays silent as he pulls into the police station, hands on the wheel.

"Go see the chief with that. Find out what he thinks about this." He suggests, and the woman gets out of the car in response.

* * *

_Sora_

I play with my cat as I wait, string dangling in the air as he tries desperately to catch it. I can hear the water running of the shower, giving me comfort in knowing that he's at least still here.

"I don't know what to do anymore, Fluff." Yes, my cat's name is Fluff. But he's very poofy and you have to dig to find his skin, so I think it's alright. He meows at me.

"It's weird..." I sigh, dropping the string. He jumps on it, tail wagging as I roll onto my back to look at the ceiling. The water shuts off, so I get up with Fluff in my arms, putting the string back into his toybox. Shortly after Roxas steps out of the bathroom linked to my bedroom.

"Are you sure it's alright if I borrow these?" He gestures to the clothes he's wearing.

"Of course! And plus, like May said, you needed new clothes." I point out, sitting on the couch. He sits beside me.

"I know... but these are yours. Don't you need them?"

"Nah!" I put Fluff down in between us as I dig in a small bag May got from a nearby store. I take out the leatherbound book and the ballpoint pen and hold them out for him to take. "Here! Since you lost your old one..."

He smiles, gingerly taking them.

"Thank you..." He examines the cover. "I will make great use of this. And I'll let you read it, too, if you want."

"Sure!" He opens it carefully and looks at the pages gently. It's about eight at night, and usually around that time I either draw or play the piano, so I take out my own book, but this one has blank pages, save for the first dozen or so. I take a pencil and prop my legs up on the couch as I lean the book onto them, drawing carefully. Out of the corner of my eye I can see he immitates my pose, but instead he writes.

* * *

_Roxas_

I had to think a moment before I decide to start, which is a first for me. I've never not had to do that, because I usually just write about the same thing. But this time, I think I'll enjoy dragging this one around with me.

_I can honestly say that today has been very different. Though it started out like the regular routine that I've been used to, but for once, I got a gift on my birthday. But not from mother or father... no, I still feel an empty feeling towards them, like a stranger I'd meet on the street. I met a boy my age named Sora Hikari. I knew a little about the Hikari's beforehand, but never that Ansem Hikari _(A.N.: Oh ew that is kind of mortally disgusting... Ansem as Sora's father... but I had no one else in mind, aheh...)_ had a son. Turns out that Sora's father hid him from the world because he was ashamed of him. But I honestly see nothing to be ashamed of in Sora. He's kind... a little emotional, but really... he's probably the best friend anyone could ever ask for. He is my best friend, even if I've only met him this morning._

_It was a very funny sort of meeting. A poor boy, beaten to the brink of death, sitting in an alleyway to wait out the school day, and a rich boy, who very well tries to save him. If anyone would have told me this, I would have told them that they're lying, but it's the truth, and I am enjoying my time here, and I am smiling, laughing even. I can't remember the last time I did that..._

_And to make matters better, this time I don't have that blasted book with me. I left it at home, and if they find it, so be it. I don't need it to rule my life. Maybe someday I'll re-write it completely and show the world just how cruel some people can be, since I remember every word. But right now, I want to let those memories dissapear. I'm hoping again, and this time I'm hoping that this is the break I wouldn't kill myself for._

I close it gently, the leather feeling foreign underneath my hands as I smooth out the cover, thinking to myself. I look at what he's doing, and I can say I'm litterally blown away by the drawing.

It's of the sunset we watched. Every shadow is in the right place, making it look like it can leap out of the pages and come to life at any moment. You can tell there is wind because of the trees that are at the edges, their leaves following the summer wind. And then, leaning onto the railing, is the two of us.

He made the shadows more dark for us, my face slightly noticable from the viewpoint. He got the small, barely noticable unless you look a few inches from my face, scar right underneath my right eye where my father once threw glass on and it pierced the skin deeply. I had to stitch it myself, which can be quite painful without morphene. And there is a dull light in the eye you can see on my face. Suffice to say he got it pretty well.

And the drawing of him is just as astounding. The spiky brown hair on his head is leaning into the wind, his left eye noticable on his face, as his face is turned a little towards the drawing of me. His eye has a shine in it like none other, really. And the sky itself looks like if it will catch fire.

"Wow... you weren't kidding when you said you enjoyed drawing." I tell him with a smile. He looks up, a little startled, looking at me.

"Ah... thank you." He gets a little coloration to his cheeks as he smiles, then looks down to his drawing again. "I have a good interpretation of people... but it's the first time I draw something like this, really."

"How come?" I ask. He hands it to me, and I flip to the beginning, looking through the pictures he's drawn.

"I don't know. I don't usually make a background, nor do I usually add such fine details, but I was making the background of the sunset, and somehow I added us there as well." I give it back to him.

"You should be proud of your skill. It's amazing." I stretch my arms a little, wincing at the slight jolt of pain.

"I've always wanted to be an artist, really." He admits, looking at the closed book on his lap. "My father wants me to make something of my life, as he so kindly puts it. But he wants me to go into Archeology, but I don't want to do something I'll hate."

"Don't listen to him, alright?" He looks at me. "He can't force you to do anything you don't want to do." (A.N.: OMG The most ebil idea ever just popped into my head. Mouhahahahahahahaha, I cannot wait for that chappy to arrive!)

He hugs me. He seems to enjoy doing that. But frankly, it's not so bad. I find it quite comfortable, like if we fit together like that. I return his hug with a smile, which his response is to press his head a little more to my collarbone. My stomach does a flip everytime he does that, but I don't understand it, so I don't pursue it.

"I think it'll be a lot of fun with you around." He admits. I laugh once to myself.

"I'm hoping it will."

* * *

_Third person_

"_'...And right now, I'm more worried about hiding that knife wound on my leg. How he thought this would make me cry in front of him, I don't know. But it sure made me cry when I took it out of my leg after his torture was done with. It's the first time he's done that to me. And I know it will only continue.'_"

* * *

_Still third person_

As if he was afraid his newfound friend would vanish within the night, Sora holds onto him, blissfully unaware of it, as was the blonde next to him. Having no other bedrooms, Roxas shared his room, but both of them could care less. They're both curled up on their sides, hands tightly held together.

* * *

Damn, you will all kill me for my ebil idea (maybe). And no, ebil is not a typo. I tend to have fun with words like that, and I like saying ebil. It makes things more fun =3

Stay tuned, I might write more soon. I'm enjoying this story quite a lot (plus it's good practice while I think of how to continue Fall Into Your Sunlight.


	5. Nightmare

**Paper Moon**

**Chapter Five**

**Nightmare**

_Sora_

The day is pretty hot. Why I say that, you ask?

Oh, I don't know. Ask the two boys cooking in the shade.

A bird chirps over the tree were lying in the shade in, happy and content with the heat. May told us we should go outside, but really, I think she had a heat stroke before she said that, because she is _crazy!_

"Remind me again why were here?" Roxas asks, lying down on the grass, playing with a piece of grass as he tries to cool off.

"I honestly have no idea. But I think I got a solution!" I grin. He looks at me, sweat trickling gently down his forehead.

"Enlighten me, then."

"You know what?" He starts evenly while I approach the edge. I stop at the very edge, looking back at him.

"What is it?"

"Why didn't you think of this before?" He laughs. The room is quite cool as it is, with air conditioning flitting about the room. Add to the fact this is a room with a pool in it, and you get every teen's dream, or just about.

"May told us to go outside, so we did. I didn't know she would have also said okay to this." With that I lower myself into the cool water, sighing as I sink to my nose in the shallow part of the pool.

"Do you have to ask her all the time?" He asks as he walks around to the more deep area, looking into the water. I nod, making bubbles with my mouth to amuse myself.

"It's easier that way." We're dressed in nothing but swimming trunks, so it's easy to see all his scars and bruises, which are healing quite well now that they're not being hit every day. Roxas has been here for a good deal of a week now, and I must say that I'm enjoying having someone around.

"I guess." He gives me a grin before he jumps in, making a show of making waves. I laugh.

When he comes back up he lets himself float on his back, smiling in contentment.

"Well this is _much_ better than the heat outside." He sighs. I swim around a little, passing under him just for fun. He laughs, surprising me the next time I come up by splashing me a little. He puts some distance between us quickly enough.

"That wasn't fair." I mock-pout. "You're supposed to warn me first."

He shrugs, floating on his back once again.

"But then where's the fun in that?" He asks, going upright again as he gives me a grin.

"Hey, what do you wanna do after this?" I ask. He shrugs and returns to his floating.

"Meh. It doesn't really matter, does it? As long as we have fun." I nod my agreement with that statement. "Hey, you want to see something cool?" He asks me suddenly before he dissapears underneath the water. I frown.

I hear him come up, but when I register it's him, by that time he's already jumped up a little, and he latches himself onto my back, legs wrapped around my waist and arms around my neck loosely.

"I've always wanted to try that." He laughs near my ear, sending shivers up my spine. His skin feels super smooth on my own, and it's actually quite comfortable having him there on my back.

_Why am I always thinking like that?_

"It's fun!" I laugh, trying to hide my getting-ever-warmer face. I spin around in circles. "But honestly, I'm surprised your wounds are allowing you to do this."

"I'm glad they are." He laughs as well. "And they're healing amazingly fast, I can even start to move around a lot better." He leans his chin on my shoulder, and I can feel his breath on it. "Thanks."

"Hey, any decent person with a heart would have helped you." I shrug, swimming around casually as he holds on.

"Yeah, but none ever did. They would look at me with a look that said: _Poor child, he got hit by something. I should help him, but he's probably dangerous._ Add to the fact that almost half of the boys my age at school would beat me up whenever they got the chance, and I didn't look so healthy."

"I noticed the first time you ate supper here." I laugh, remembering that particular meal. The cook was flattered that he ate so much that she goes out of her way to make him bigger portions, much to his embarassment.

"I think everyone noticed." He laughs slightly to himself. He sighs afterwards, resting his head more thoroughly on my shoulder. "But I'm enjoying my time here. I find myself hoping that I can stay here and keep you company forever."

"You can, you know." I tell him, turning my head to look at him. He looks at me from the corner of his eyes. "I think it would actually be quite enjoyable."

He smiles.

"I think, then, that I'll do just that... if I won't be imposing."

"Of course not!" I protest. "And whoever tells you otherwise will be out of here before they can say anything else on the matter."

He laughs a bit.

"Then I shall."

* * *

_Third person_

"I don't know where you got that, but that is a story filled with nothing but lies!" Angelina Strife shouts out as an officer handcuffs her hands behind her back.

"Miss, it will do you no good to deny it; we found the blood in the boy's room, exactly as depicted. And there are numerous walls with blood where it's been described he'd been beaten." The officer says evenly.

"Well I didn't do anything! It was my husband! He's the drunk!"

"It also says that you have had violent and abusive relations with your son. We're arresting you for charges against Roxas Strife."

"You can't proove anything without the boy!" She shouts out. "The judge will tell you the same, and unless you find him, we're going nowhere but back home!"

"We have firm enough evidence with this book."

"You'll all rot in hell!" She spits out as they drag her into the police car outside, neighbors watching the scene. "You'll see! We'll get him back and you'll be powerless!"

* * *

_Roxas_

He sits dangling his feet on the couch with the TV on to a random channel I have never heard of - then again, TV might as well be foreign to me - smiling to himself.

"There's nothing good on." He explains, making a face. I nod, drying the pool water from my hair with a towel he'd given me.

"What's it at?" I ask, feeling a little stupid.

"The news. Believe it or not, sometimes my cat watches tv when I put it onto this channel." He says with a grin, looking at the headlines with no interest.

I sit down beside him with my legs out in front of me, and I wiggle my toes as I look at the colorful screen.

"It's possible." I shrug, getting the water out of my ear. He frowns.

"Hey, look, they arrested some couple for crimes against their child." He says, confused. I look up, eyes wide.

He puts the volume up so we can hear the reporter.

"..._Earlier today for charges against their son, including abuse and violence. Said boy is nowhere to be found, having dissapeared a week ago without a trace. Investigators found about this when they first visited the couple Monday afternoon at three in the afternoon. Apparently they found a book written by hand by the boy himself, depicting everything that happened to him. Investigator Martine said the following about all of this;_

_"'It was hard to read what happened to this boy. He'd given up on hope, he kept trying to end his life so he wouldn't have to suffer. But I must say that if ever that book went up on the shelves, people everywhere would know the story of Roxas Strife.'"_

_"If anyone has any information concerning this young boy, please, don't hesitate to contact this toll-free number before. We wish for him to be safe and to be found so we can therefore put this matter to an end and ease his suffering."_

I put my hands over my ears, eyes glued shut. I don't want to see or hear anything of that. But I somehow always knew that this was too good to be true.

Apparently I'd said that out loud without realizing it, because Sora pries my hands from over my ears, making me open my eyes to meet worried ones not far in front of me.

"They need me to help put them in jail." I say matter-of-factly. "Don't make me go there."

"I wouldn't ever do that!" He protests, making me look at him with even more surprise. "Even if my own father would walk in and threaten to make you go, you would never go. I promise." His hands are on my shoulders now, gripping them firmly.

"O...okay. I believe you." I nod. He smiles and hugs me tight, causing my face to feel really warm.

"We'll always be together." He says really low, right next to my ear, his breath tickling my skin.

* * *

_Third person_

"I don't give a damn if you have to search every God damn house in all of Dusk City, I want you to find that boy, and I want you to do that _within a week_! Am I understood?" The woman police chief shouts to the long line of police officers and investigators.

"Yes sir!" They shout in unision.

"Dismissed! And don't come back until you have a lead!"

* * *

Awwehs, hints on how Roxas feels about Sora appear in the form of not-so-secret words! Sora's been kinda obvius from the start, though XD

Stay tuned =3


	6. Dreams

**LYRICS IN THIS CHAPTER REMOVED DUE TO COPYRIGHT ISSUES (color me confused too.)**

*Falls off her chair* Ahaha, I liked the comments I got not too long ago. I really liked the Poet's Raven's comment, mostly because it made me laugh quite some bit. And thank you OmniaVanitas for taking the time to review my story.

And to answer your question, yes, all chapters up to date have been posted today. =3 I've been bored all day, as is shown. And I'm also glad you enjoyed the Mythology in chapter three, I always enjoy writing that thing.

Oh, and we haven't seen the last of the ebil parents yet... so don't celebrate just yet! =)

Roxas: Whaaaaaat? But-but-but-but... you evil woman!

It's said as EBIL! Get it right, emo boy!

* * *

**Paper Moon**

**Chapter Six**

**Dreams**

_Sora_

He looked really scared. They had shown his parents on the tv right before he shut his eyes, and when he opened them after I took his hands off his ears, there was nothing but fear in them.

But right now he was faring a little better. He fell asleep on the couch, having fallen onto his left side as he did. And I, having been sitting to his left, now had the side of his face pressed up against my right thigh. But I don't want to disturb him, so I'm letting him stay there. I move some stray golden strands of hair from his forehead subconsiously as I use my left hand to draw.

May walks in with a small tray of snacks, placing them on the coffee table and raising an eyebrow.

"He fell asleep and fell onto his side." I explain to her. "And I don't wanna wake him up." I make sure to speak quietly to not wake him. She nods in understanding, bows a slightly shallow bow, and walks out of the room. I take a cookie and nibble on it, looking at my drawing.

It is a very simple one, however. It's of Roxas for some reason, and he's depicted exactly as I see him right now; sleeping. I guess his face looked so peaceful that I wanted to draw it.

Not that I mind, really.

I close the drawing book, placing it gently on the coffee table beside the tray of snacks, silently laughing to myself when I finally realize that his book is open on his chest, pen still loosely clutched into his hand.

I take it from his chest and close it gently, looking on the cover and passing my hand over it. My right hand continues to draw small little circles on his forehead.

Slightly curious I open it to the first page. Technically he told me I could read it, but I still feel bad about snooping. I quickly close it, not having even read the first word. I put it onto the coffee table, my eyes wandering back to him sleeping soundly beside me, a snore escaping his lips every once in a while. I move a strand of hair that had managed to get onto his forehead, fingers lingering on the skin of his forehead.

_I'm lying to myself._ I admit softly to myself only as I continue to pass my fingers gently on his forehead. _I'm afraid that he'll leave for some reason, of his own accord or out of force. And I think... I don't want him as just a friend..._

* * *

_Roxas_

The sunlight in the morning hits my eyes hard, making me open my eyes quickly and blink. Groaning slightly, I bury my head in whatever it's on deeper, putting a hand on my eyes to try and sleep. The dream... it was so nice, I don't want it to end.

I hear a small chuckle not far from my ear, followed by a yawn. I open my eyes and look up.

Sora smiles down.

"You kinda fell over onto my lap when you fell asleep." He explains, voice thick with sleep. "I didn't want to wake you up just yet, and I ended up falling asleep as well."

I laugh a little at that as I sit up again, neck a little stiff as I try to massage it out.

"May left to go on an errand for the Head Butler, and your bandage needs to be changed and the wound dressed. Do you want me to do it?" He asks, cracking his fingers as he stifles another yawn. I shrug.

"I don't mind." I mumble, clearing my throat to rid my voice of the sleep. He nods and gets up, headed to the bathroom adjoining his room for the medical kit. It gives me time to stretch out my arms over my head and wake up my legs.

"Okay, just remove your shirt so I can tend to it." He opens up the kit, and while turning around and sitting with my back to him, I lift my shirt up over my head, shivering at the breeze. He starts to unwrap the bandage.

"Most of your wounds are practically nonexistant." He tells me. I look over my shoulder at him to see his smile. "You'll only have one scar on your shoulder, and one at the small of your back, which is this one I'm tending to."

I nod and turn my head back around as he passes a wet cloth over the small of my back, causing it to burn from the rubbing alcohol. I bite back my hiss, mostly because I know it makes him feel bad whenever he hears me hiss from the pain. But I enjoy having his fingers brush against my skin so delicately like that.

"Did you sleep well?" He asks me as he starts wrapping the bandage around my waist, arms reaching to my stomach, momentarily wrapping around my waist as he does so. Whenever he retracts his arms, the air feels cold where they were a moment before.

"I guess. I was comfortable, so you can say that I did." I tell him. He tightens the last of the bandage and secures it in place.

"I'm glad that you did." We fall into an awkward silence.

* * *

_Third person_

_Someone needs to lock them up into a room together._ The onlooker makes a face of disgust, turning down the hallway. _Seriously, they are so dense._

* * *

_Sora_

"You have the biggest library I've ever seen." He whistles as I close the door behind us, hearing it click into place. I laugh a little to myself.

"My other house has a bigger one, but that's because it's father's research house. He spends all his time there." I shrug as I pull one out from a shelf. "May wants me to _try_ to keep up with my studies, which is pointless, really, since I don't really need to study."

"When do you go back to school?" He asks as I flop down onto a chair, turning open the not-so-historical book and reading it.

"Umm... around the second week of September." I sigh. "I don't like going there. You might think that going to a private snob school would be fun, but to tell you the truth, I stay too quiet so people pick on me, which doesn't help the fact that I'm very good in school. I don't really have any friends at school."

"That's not very nice of them. You're quite fun to be around." He says matter-of-factly, looking to - the only other reason I come here - the grand piano in the corner.

"Thanks." I smile at him, and, already bored, I set the book down. "You wanna try playing it?" I ask, following his stare.

"Ah? No, no, it's fine." He says quickly. "I'm just wondering what it sounds like."

"I'll show you." I grab his hand and pull him over to it, enjoying the feel of his hand. Too soon I have to let it go, and I sit onto the bench to the right, motioning for him to sit to my left. He does so.

"What type of song is it?" He asks gently, looking to the keys.

"I'll teach it to you. It's a lullaby." I smile at him, gently placing my fingers on the keys before I start the beginning of the song, a gentle sound filling the Library.

"Does it come with lyrics?" He asks, watching me play. I nod, pointing my nose to the music sheet on the edge right above the keys. He reads it a moment.

He starts saying them softly to himself.

"It's in Latin, so maybe the syllables are a little hard." I tell him. He shakes his head.

"They're easy enough. Can I?" I nod, and taking a deep breath, he adds them to the melody.

I look at him as he sings, a small type of awe filling me. His voice rising and falling perfectly in what is usually a female-sung song, he gives me a small smile.

I end the melody soon after, and smile at him.

"Wanna try another?" I ask. He nods, eyes bright and happy. I put the sheet down, exposing the one right behind it. "It's a lullaby, and this one is in Japanese. Think you can take it?" He nods, reading them already. After about a minute or so, he nods.

I start the song in its forever rising and falling notes, smiling to myself as he watches my fingers play the notes. After about half a minute of my playing - he's managed to figure out the musical notes a little - he starts the lyrics on the right spot.

He smiles at me, playing one tentative note just for kicks, sending me apologetic looks when I miss my note because of him. I just laugh.

"You're good." I tell him with a smile, cracking my fingers a little. He smiles back at me.

"You're pretty good youself." He looks down at his hands on his lap. "Thanks."

"That's what friends are for." I say with a smile, but that word tastes like poison in my mouth. My thoughts are so confused about him... I don't want him as a 'friend.'

He opens his mouth, as if he wants to say something, but he closes it again and smile instead.

"Wanna play another?" He asks. Nodding I show him the third sheet, and we begin on that one.

**(^W^)**

It's well into nighttime when we finish with the piano, smiling and laughing because we're goofing off so much. He makes a funny face and I laugh as I close the top over the keys.

"This was fun." He tells me, humming the last one we did, _Shattered_, to himself. "You have nice song selections."

"I can show you my other ones in my room." I tell him as I put away the book I'd left on the table. But I can tell you this right away, the voice he has while singing... I thoroughly enjoyed it, having it rise and fall in my ear.

"Alright." We head to the door, and I put my hand on the handle, pulling.

It doesn't open.

"Uh oh." I pull again, grunting from the effort.

"Uh oh what?" He asks, looking around my shoulder.

"The doors stuck."

* * *

Ahaha, who can guess the person who wanted to lock them into a room together? And who _Locked_ them into the Library together?

More soon, maybe tonight if I can type that fast.


	7. Everlasting

Hey, if anyone wants to suggest things that they may want to see show up into the story, tell me and I'll work it in. =3 I'd thoroughly enjoy the suggestions (I've wanted to write this for a while but I kept forgetting to XD)

* * *

**Paper Moon**

**Chapter Seven**

**Everlasting**

_Roxas_

"How long do you think until someone finds us?" I ask as I poke the floor with my finger, sitting on it after both of us having given up our door-pounding.

He shrugs, lying down onto the ground.

"This is a pretty big house, you know." He sighs and closes his eyes, making me wonder just what Sora is thinking about.

"Wanna play a game to pass the time?" I ask. He opens one eye and looks at me.

"Sure."

"Okay. We have to ask one question and the person has to answer truthfully. Easy enough?" He nods. "You start."

He laughs a little, looking to the ceiling.

"Have you ever had any strange thoughts that you couldn't understand?" He asks.

"More or less. But they're frequent now." I lie down onto the ground beside him, mostly because it looks comfortable. "Have you?"

"Often enough." He shrugs. "What do you enjoy doing the most?"

I hum a moment, thinking. "Just relaxing is enjoyable, as long as you do it with someone you enjoy spending time with." I grin at his expression. "Have you... ever loved someone other than your mother?"

He falls silent a moment, a deep-in-thought look in his eyes. I wonder if that was a bad question... but I'm honestly curious.

"I have." He says finally in a soft voice. "Back when I lived in one of our other houses, I knew this girl. Her name was Kairi.(A.N.: FK it this is her ONLY appearance, I don't especially like her or Namine or Xion -.-)She went around telling people we were together, and I ended up believing her. I did like her, but not how she did. I moved here shortly after one month, having decided to call it off. Other than that... there's only been one other."

"Who?" I ask, curious. He shakes his head.

"My turn. Have you ever loved someone?" He asks, looking at me out of the corner of his eyes.

"I don't know... as you know, I've never been given that emotion... so I don't know what it is."

"It's a nice feeling." He starts explaining it to me. "If you truly care for someone, you often feel right when you're beside them." He offers me a quick smile, looking to the ceiling. "And you sometimes get feelings in your stomach at what they do, but not out of nausea. More of a... fluttery feeling. You enjoy it when you have skin contact of any sort."

I fall silent, looking at my hands.

_But is it normal to love one of your own gender?_

_

* * *

_

Sora

He falls silent, eyes confused and more than a little curious all the same.

"Can I ask you something?" He says suddenly. I look at him, but he's looking up at the ceiling.

"Of course." I smile at him.

"I heard some people one day at my school saying that loving someone of your own gender is wrong and unnatural, punishable by law or something like that. Is that true?" He asks.

"Of course its not true. Some places might punish that kind of love, but most places don't. It just means you have a different type you can see yourself with."

"Your turn." He says after a moment.

"So... have you ever loved someone?"

"I... have." He says softly, so softly I think I didn't hear it. "Tell me who you have cared for like that. That's my question."

"A close friend of mine." I say hesitantly. "And you?"

"A friend of mine." He smiles to himself. "Always very kind to me, really. It's hard to immagine myself otherwise, with your help, of course."

I feel a small sinking feeling in my stomach. But I hide it with a smile.

"Hey Sora?" He asks. I look at him. "Don't move, you have something on your nose." His hand brushes on my nose as he removes whatever is there, and, out of reflex I close my eyes.

And open them again when I feel the most hesitant of pressures right on my lips, agonizingly restrained.

He starts to pull away, and in a desperate attempt I lean forward to keep the contact just a little longer, relishing in the touch as I let my eyes flutter closed again, hands snaking to behind his neck to keep him there a little longer.

* * *

_Third Person_

_I think they've stayed there enough._ The maid digs into her pocket for the Library key she 'borrowed' from the Head Butler. (A.N.: OMG Perp identity revealed!) _Really, I just hope he won't hate me... young master might, really. What have I done?_

She quickly unlocks the door with the key, pocketing it and swinging it open hesitantly, peering in.

_Well well, maybe he won't hate me after all._ She giggles to herself as she closes the door gently again, giving them a little more time.

* * *

_Roxas_

His hands slip from my neck shortly thereafter, and we both pull back just a fraction, eyes opening halfway and faces merely inches apart, mouths open a tad bit so our breaths mix.

"I'm sorry." I say after a moment like that. He shakes his head, ever so slowly coming closer to press his lips once more, hands coming back up into my hair. It's sweet in every way, mostly because he tastes like sweets, but that's alright. Once again we pull back, but his hands remain in my hair, his head resting on the floor once again.

"It's alright." He smiles a bit. "You can do that as much as you want."

So I do. I give him gentle kisses over and over, hands right above his hair.

And of course good moments always come to an end, because the door opens and we pull back hesitantly, ever so slowly and ever so comfortable. We both look up and see May, eyes flying wide and just as quickly getting rid of all contact with each other in record time.

She laughs.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourselves."

I can feel my face combust into flames - not litterally, but it feels that way. I look to my lap, but Sora laughs with a smile.

"I think we did." He admits, eyes shining when I look up. He looks at me and smiles wider.

* * *

Awww I enjoyed writing this chapter =3 That's it for tonight and I hope you'll enjoy everything I have planned for you in the near future.


	8. Sunlight Burns

Thank you the Poet's Raven for your suggestion; as a thanks I've done my best to put it into this chapter. It helps me put off the end of the plot, because if I don't get idea's, this story will close rapidly enough XD But I can say confidently enough that you will all enjoy the ending to some extent.

And to TheRoxelShow, yes, -Man is DA BOMB! =DI also have Lala's lullaby on my Ipod, listen to it every morning so much that I'm now learning Latin XD And the Musician's Score, I also have it =3 It's hard to find but oh so worth it. And another Ebil fan! Yay!

Thank you Moe10 and Poseidon's-Princess for your comments. It makes me very happy that you all enjoy my story this much (seriously when I got on to make this chapter, I was surprised at the load of new comments XD)

And for il2swim57, I'll try to take your advice as best as I can! I will try my best to make the chapters longer, but for some reason it's harder in this story, maybe because I have so many idea's, therefore I tend to rush it. And good job guessing correctly about the maid! Oh, and if I were to tell you what would happen, it wouldn't be a surprise now, would it? =) But let me tell you, you're on the right track...

Ahah, I wonder who can guess the ending!

Give me suggestions if you want me to add something to the story, or if you want a one-shot/short story about a certain subject. I'm open to anything!

Now enough of my blabbing! Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**Paper Moon**

**Chapter Eight**

**Sunlight Burns**

_Sora_

"Will you c_ome on?_" I ask in exasperation, pulling on his wrist the following day after our Library entrapment. He's stubbornly resisting, which I then challenge. It's a never-ending elastic effect.

"Tell me where you're trying to kidnap me, for the millionth time." Sighing he finally allows me to drag him down into the town, mashing the hat over his head down a little tighter, ignoring the few looks we get from clerks who are certain we are up to no good on a summer day.

"You'll like it! I really enjoy going there to think and talk to the few friends I have."

"Okay, now I'm scared." He sighs again as I tow him down a busy district. The lunch rush files about, families and friends alike arguing about lunch choices, what they have already eaten and if it was worth the price.

"Don't be so meloverdramatic." I snort, pulling him into the parking lot of a restaurant and slowing down a little. He looks at the building and raises an eyebrow at it. I simply change my grip from his wrist to his hand, smiling at me. "You'll like it. It's an all-you-can-eat."

I'm pretty sure he'd start to drool if he could. He can eat so much and weigh so little.

"Have I told you that I love you?" He says with a grin, a gourmet-type look in his eyes. I laugh a little.

"Not really. I've only known you a week, after all, but I seem to have your character pinned down." I look to the building as I open the door, letting him step in first. The hostess is making her way back to the front door when I close it behind me.

"Ah, Sora! It's good to see you! You have a friend with you today?" She gestures to Roxas, who looks at her warily. He subconsciously grips my hand tighter, taking a small and subtle step closer.

"Yeah. He's a little shy, though. His name's Roxas." I look at him. "Don't worry about it. Roxas, this is Mary Anne, she doesn't bite."

He relaxes a little.

"Nice to meet you. A friend of Sora's is a friend of mine." She smiles. "Your usual table?"

"Sure!" I bring him along and let the waiting hostess nearby tend to the family that was waiting behind us. The smells of cooking meat, fish and vegetables fill the room, wafting around us and making Roxas take a small inquisitive sniff.

"Shall you have anything to drink?" Mary Anne asks as she puts down the drink menu on our places. Roxas sits down across for me - a small little table for two, right beside a window that gives a view of the fields behind the restaurant. This area is mostly reserved for people with status, however. It has lamps that cast a gentle glow and candles on the tables that are lit when you sit that give an extra light while you eat.

"We'll both take a vanilla milkshake." I tell her, and she nods, going back the way she came. Roxas looks around him in slight awe. "You'll like it, I promise."

"I'm sure I will." He smiles warmly. "I'm with you, aren't I?" The statement makes me smile in return. "But why'd you bring me here?"

"Isn't it obvious by now?" I say as Mary Anne comes back with two vanilla milkshakes, sets them down onto the table, gives us a menu, and walks off. I open mine absentmindedly. "I've brought you here for a date. It's nice to get away from that godforsaken house every once in a while, even if my father hates it."

"It makes me wonder..." He starts as he looks through the list of unfamiliar foods. I look up to see a slight coloration to his cheeks. "Where were you going when you saw me?"

"I was actually just passing through because I was bored and because I like the calmness of that area. But it always put me on edge, too, that particular calmness." I shrug as I put the menu down.

"Did you pass by often?" He asks. "And I have no idea what's in this thing, plus the numbers look huge and scary. Are you sure...?"

"Of course I am." I smile. "Try the sushi." He nods and puts his own menu down. "And I passed by nearly once a week. My father used to call about once a week, but he's stopped now, and whenever he would call I'd be angry, so I'd go out for a walk."

"I'm sorry." He takes a tentative sip of the milkshake, and his eyes widen at the taste. (A.N.: OMG Milkshake DOES NOT go with Sushi! I shall have to fix that!XD)

"It's not your fault." I nod to Mary Anne as she come over, notepad in hand.

"Are you boys ready to order?" She asks. I nod.

"We'll both take the Sushi course." She writes it down, taking the menu's back.

"Would you like the green tea as a drink to accompany that?" She asks. I nod, and she quickly writes it down. "I'll be right back with that." But first she leans in and whispers into my ear.

"_I heard you're on a date with him, no?_" I laugh and nod, not at all shy to say it. "_He's a good one for you, Sora._" Smiling she walks back along the lush carpet. I stretch my arms out a little.

"What'd she say?" He asks, a little curious. He leans forward a little.

"She basically commented you." I smile at him, making him raise an eyebrow. "Aw c'mon, don't you believe me?" I pout.

"Of course I believe you." He smiles. "It's just a lot to swallow... I've never realy been treated in any manner close to this." He scratches the back of his head in thought.

(A.N.: BOOM! Insta-cook! How I'd love having that in Canada XD)

"It's not your fault." I smile as Mary Anne comes back with traditional Japanese plates with ten rows of stacks of two pieces of sushi on it on her tray, with two small green cylinders filled with steamy liquid, and a matching green pot of tea.

"Enjoy your meal." She says as she gives us the plates, putting the chopsticks onto our placemats and walking back the way she'd come.

"Care to explain a little?" He asks, gesturing to everything in general. Smiling I hold up the pieces of smooth wood in my hand and show him how to hold them.

"You hold them like this and grab the sides of the sushi with them. You have to put the whole thing in your mouth in one go." I demonstrate, making him laugh a little. Needless to say he tries it.

"Thank you." He smiles.

~~(^W^)~~

The sun beats onto our bare arms as we walk down the sidewalk, basically just smiling and laughing. He's holding some flower he saw on our way back, a white rose, and he holds it to his nose every few minutes to smell it.

"I keep thinking that I'm dreaming. Is that normal?" He asks, looking at me. I smile at him and hold his left hand, which is not holding onto the rose.

"I'm not sure." I laugh as we turn a corner. "But can we not wake up?" I ask. The sky slowly tinges itself pink, staining the sky with a gentle grace that would leave one breathless.

"Fine by me." He looks to the sky. "Thanks... for today. I had a great time."

We stop just by the gate leading into my yard. Swinging our hands that are entertwined between us, he lets the rose fall onto the ground.

"Don't mention it. I think it did us some good, going out a little like that." He leans his back onto the marble post that holds the left gate, and I stand in front of him, smiling gently.

"Yeah... but you don't have to pay that much for me. I'm really well enough happy like this."

I shake my head.

"Silly. I wanted to." I smile at him. In response to that he slowly lessens the distance between ourselves, mouth gently pressing onto mine. I lean into the contact, hoping for those extra seconds.

Look, don't blame me. If you would have kissed Roxas, you'd do the same. He probably doesn't know it, but with the hesitance he has, it makes it sweet, almost everlasting. You can feel it for hours later.

"Hey, you know I meant it, right?" He asks, just barely an inch away, every word brushing against my lips and sending tiny pinpricks of electricity coursing through me.

"Meant what?" I ask, opening my eyes a bit to see his so close to mine.

"What I said earlier." He smiles briefly. "When I said I love you."

"I figured." Slowly I put my arms on his shoulder, hands linked limply behind his head. "It's not something you just throw out there."

"I guess." I can see he's about to lessen the distance again, so before he does that, I say something.

"Which is why I can say I love you too." I say just as the distance turns from zero to none. And again it's forever sweet and gentle, which is what I like the most about him. No urgency. I've heard that some people are, and really, it doesn't sound like fun.

I pull back gently, forehead leaning onto his and nose brushing his slightly. His hands are on my back, soft and ghost-like.

"May will get worried soon. Plus I think Karyn (A.N.: The cooks name, and also the name (edited) of a childhood friend of mine) would be sad if you weren't there for her supper." He laughs, and hesitantly I can feel his hands fall from my back. I unclasp my hands from behind him, taking one sweet, final kiss from him before I pull back and smile.

I step back and lead the way down the gated yard.

"Hey Sora?" He asks, running to catch up with me. I slow down a little.

"Yeah?" I ask, looking over my shoulder as he runs up and walks beside me.

"Is it normal that my arms a little red?" He shows me his right arm, of which I take gingerly, making him wince. "It burns a little."

I laugh, letting his arm fall from my grasp.

"You got a sunburn." I tell him as I open the door and hold it for him, closing it gently behind me. "I'll put something on it after dinner to help ease the burning."

"Is it dangerous?" He asks, poking his arm in slight curiosity.

"No, not unless you get into technical terms."

"Which are...?"

"Well, the UV rays of the sun creep into your sink and change the code of your DNA, therefore making you more suceptable to skin cancer." I laugh a little at his horrified expression as I lead him towards the dinning hall. "And when you're pale, it doesn't help. It improves the risks."

"No more sun." He makes a face.

"Don't worry about it." I take his hand to reassure him. "Nothing will happen to you. I promise."

He gives me a smile as we step into the dining hall. He continues on while I stop in my tracks, eyes flying wide at the sight of the person sitting in the chair, gently sipping on soup. The person looks to me, and, Roxas, realizing my distress, pauses and gives the person a wary look, stepping a little closer to me, almost protectively. His hand tightens on mine, as if he's reassurring me.

"Hello, son."

* * *

CLIFFHANGER! *Is hanging off a cliff herself* Uuuuhhhh... little help here?

Oh who could it be? There is only two people, and one is dead! Or is she...? *DUN DUN DUN!*

Ahah, I kid. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll post the next one up tomorrow after school or something. I hope this chpter was longer than the others, for I'm not using Word for them at all, since this is my dad's laptop and all, so I can't tell how long it is.

STAY TUNED! NO, DON'T FLIP THE CHANNEL! D=


	9. A Sun and A Moon

Omg, so many reviews when I came home! *Clears her throat* Here goes (Because I have a thought that reviewers should always be thanked for their comments, no matter how good or bad... or maybe that's just me XD)

For Tera LoveLess Uchiha: You'll find out this chapter who that person was! At least you won't have to wait long to find out =3

For il2swim57I I actually update so frequently because a lot of people enjoy this story for some reason, so I'm trying to make it so they can read more of it sooner. I guess I'm aiming to please (That, and up until now I had a writers block on both Fall Into Your Sunlight and a story I write in my free time.)

To the Poet's Raven: Two bets? Wise choice XD Being a reader, I would probably have thought something irrelevant like a cop or something like that (it's not like we know much about Sora's past - that's changing this chapter!) And you have a good perception of my use of the DUN DUN DUN XD In short version, your review made me laugh quite a bit XD

To Poseidon's-Princess: Ahah, I'm wondering what that reaction was for, exactly XD

To HeartlessRhapsody: I know, right? That song is so awesome that I wanna sing it at a talent show next year XD

To Moe10: Sushi is the best thing ever made by man XD And yes, milkshakes. I put it there before thinking of the sushi, so I didn't really wanna get rid of it, so I just twisted it around a bit to suit my needs (plus green tea rocks).

Thank you all for your amusing and wonderful reviews! I hope this chapter shall fill your hungry and cannibal-like desire for fanfics (kidding), but please do enjoy. =3

Give me suggestions if you want me to add something to the story, or if you want a one-shot/short story about a certain subject. I'm open to anything!

HAH! 3,248 words in the ENTIRE chapter! Hope that's long enough for y'all =3

* * *

**Paper Moon**

**Chapter Nine**

**A Sun and A Moon**

_Roxas_

He seemed so afraid of the woman sitting in that chair, his hand suddenly felt cold to me. Out of instinct I take a step closer to him, standing a little bit in front of him, almost protectively. I see her eyes flicker to me, a deep blue that almost look like Sora's eyes, and something flickers in them. I can't identify the emotion, but I don't like the woman.

"Hello, son." She says with a delicate smile. Sora, wide-eyed, takes a step away from her, as if she's a ghost come back from the dead to haunt him, something right out of his nightmares. He shoots me a quick and helpless look.

"No. You're not - I saw - who are you?" He half-shouts the last part, snapping his head up and glaring at her. She seems to have shaken him to his very core. She slowly rises from her chair, and seems to want to come closer to him. I step even closer to him, my back to him, he halfway hidden behind me.

"Tell him who you are, first." I tell her, a little coldly, but I don't care. She's frightening him. (A.N.: Roxas' changed so much since the first chapter *sniffs* he's growing up XD)

"I am glad you have a friend who is not afraid to protect you. I can tell you two have a delicate yet firm bond that will be able to withstand many beatings." She says, which catches me off guard. "I am guessing this was the wrong approach." She sits back down, slender hands in her lap.

She looks to be about thirty at the most, with a perfect face a model would kill for, blue eyes almost as astonishing as Sora's, and long brown hair up to her back, hanging loosely and without disturbance. I can see she has a gun belt around her waist, with a loaded gun sitting there. Her skin is about the same shade as Sora's.

"My name is Evelyn Hikari, young man." She bows her head to me, and straightens herself again. "May I know who you are?"

I stare at her defiantly, still not moving from my slightly protective stance in front of Sora.

"Roxas Strife, at your service." I tell her, clipping the words.

"I will not harm him." She says, hands up in the air to show her sincerity. "He is my son, and therefore, I have no right - nor does anyone have - to touch him in ways that would hurt him." She raises a perfect eyebrow at me, daring and challenging.

"Nor will I." I answer her unspoken question. "I owe him my life."

* * *

_Sora_

Roxas' words echo in my ears.

_I owe him my life._

"Not only that," he continues, while I manage to tear my gaze from her and look at him. He looks powerful and strong, defiant, and protective. "I promised." Is all he adds to that.

_I owe him my life._

The words hold little significance usually, but I find myself oddly attaching myself to them. So, to me, they're holding a lot of significance. It's hard for me to think of someone like Roxas is to me, and I've always been scared that he'd go away. But the way he said those words, I can tell that he means to do no such thing.

Probably surprising all to watch, I wrap my arms around his slim waist, smiling, laughing, even. He stiffens for a second, the smallest of seconds, before he relaxes after the shock.

"It's alright, Roxas." I laugh, chin resting on his chest as I look up at him, uncaring towards who stood and watched. "That's my mom."

"Wait, what?" His eyes bulge wide. "But you said-"

"I know." I look to mother, who is still standing where she once sat, but she's smiling approvingly. "I think an explanation will be in order."

"I believe it is." She gestures with her chin to the two of us, and our closeness. "But I believe explanations can await until after we have satisfied our hunger."

Roxas shrugs in defeat and glances at me.

"Food sounds good." I smile up at him, disentangling myself from him and sitting in front of her. Roxas sits down beside me, obviously a little wary of her.

But we both bite our tongues and wait out the explanations.

~~(.w.)~~

"I believe, to lighten the mood before my explanation," she starts, folding her hands in her lap delicately, just how I remember her doing. "I ask that you explain... your arrival here, Roxas. And just what you and my son have done thus far. And let me tell you," she continues as he opens his mouth. "Lying will do you no good."

He closes his mouth, licking his lips a little, as if he's nervous. He's looking at her with an unfazing look, strong - he's changed a little, and the change suits him. Like what he'd act like if his parents hadn't been that way - but I can see a subtle look in his eyes that suggest that my theory about he being nervous right.

"Can I?" I ask him. He looks at me, the slight fear in his eyes obvious. I put my hand on his in reassurance, which seems to help.

He nods, probably not wanting to speak, which may be for the best.

I look to her, my hand still comforting him, my fingers brushing from side to side over his own.

"I met Roxas some few blocks from his house in an alleyway." I start. "I dragged him here, maybe a little bit against his will, I don't know... but he was bruised and scared, and I was worried about him." And I continue on, telling her everything from that point on. Neither I or Roxas look at her once I get to the part about the Library and pause slightly, unsure whether not to tell her about that. But with both our faces red, I stumble through the words as I recount it all.

_That was only yesterday._ I think to myself. _Feels like forever already._

"And... that's it." I finish, not looking at her. I can feel Roxas' irratic heartbeat in his hand.

She starts to laugh.

We both look at her incredulously.

"I'm sorry. You've just grown up so much in the long days I've been away, Sora. You're not the shy little boy I remember you as, but your just as easily flustered." She says through her laughing. We both relax at the same time, letting out a breath. "Don't think I would be angry. As I said, you two have such a bond. I am no one to intefere in that."

"Th-thank you, ma'am." Roxas manages to say, still a little red in the face.

"Call me Evelyn, sweetheart." She smiles. "Now... I will tell you my part. I ask that you do not interrupt the entire way, for it will be difficult for me to say."

And like that, I'm swept into the past again.

~~(o.o)~~

_I was fifteen again, sitting at the piano in the Library, fingers brushing over them delicately. My cat sat beside me, meowing to the tune every now and then. I knew the song as _Shattered_, the one Roxas enjoyed the most, and also the one I enjoy the most._

_The Library is eerily calm, save for the sweet and graceful sound of the piano's melody. The doors are opened harshly, which cause me to miss a note and for the song to end abruptly as I see the blazing eye of my father, the other one hidden by anger. The memory of him is blurry, and I am very glad. He always frightened me._

_"How many times must I tell you?" He shouts, grabbing my wrist and pulling on it hard, holding it up in the air and making my arm hurt. It makes me stand up. _

_"Father, please!" I cry. "It hurts!"_

_"You are a useless excuse for a son!" He continues, not listening to me. Fluff hisses at him, back arched. "You're nothing but a disgrace."_

_I'd heard that many times from my father before. It didn't hurt me anymore._

_"Father, it hurts!" I repeated, louder this time. Tears well up at my eyes, mostly because I know he doesn't care squat._

_"I never want to hear you play that intrument again, or you will be walking on the streets in poor boy's clothes!"_

_"Okay! I promise!" I cry out in a desperate attempt to get him to let go. He holds on just as tightly._

_"Let go of my son this instant!" Mother walks in, in a beautiful flowing white dress like what the Egyptians used to wear. Father lets go of my wrist, and I run to her, hiding behind her._

_"He is the most pathetic and most useless excuse for the heir to the throne I have _ever_ seen! A poor boy would be better than this ungrateful brat!"_

_"You are the most pathetic man I have ever seen!" Mother shouts. "And the most stubborn! You expect your son to do as you desire when it is not what _he_ wants! He doesn't want to live your useless dream, he wants his! His talent is thousands of times more special than you believe, and you are one blind fool to think otherwise."_

_"Enough!" He bellows, and the force of the shout makes the younger me run out of the Library with tears in my eyes, clutching Fluff._

~~(o.o)~~

"Upon leaving the land." I am zapped out of my moment of remeniscing. "A sleek black vehicle pulls up to my left. Now, Ansem knew that I am an ex-FBI agent, and I knew he was planning to murder me, mostly because he thought I was to blame for our son." She murmurs something like _that vile man_ underneath her breath.

* * *

_Roxas_

Sora's quiet, fingers still brushing my hand gently, but he's not speaking, and his eyes are haunted. I look back to Evelyn.

"The men in the car were there to kill me, I knew. I ran, I did, but they did not pursue me. They knew very well that I would not return. So they came back here and said I was dead to your father, just wanting their pay, and he told you that I was randomly shot. I had gathered evidence against him over the years in the form of a file on the crimes he'd been commiting, in the name of the king. I was ready to put him away, but I left that file here, so I had to use this past year to rebuild that file and gather new evidence as well. I have just now finished." She takes a breath, and looks to Sora.

I look at him, but he's looking down at his legs.

"Why don't you help him to bed?" She suggests. "It must be a lot to take in. I will be here in the morning, so both of you get some sleep."

I nod silently, getting to my feet and taking his hand. It feels small, fragile, but maybe that's because he looks so... _breakable_ right now.

He follows me into his bedroom, silently thinking to himself. Just as I'm about to let go of his hand he grips it tighter, making me look at him.

Tears are running down his cheeks. Worried I cup my free right hand over his cheek. The salty water runs over my fingers, but I wipe the ones on his cheek gently with my right hand.

I remain silent as he looks up at me, beautiful blue orbs rimmed red and so sad looking it makes my heart come up my throat.

_So breakable..._ his hand, having let go of his death grip on my own, falls to his side. I bring my free'd hand to his other cheek, and I hold his gaze.

He reaches a little - he's just an inch shorter than me - and gently places his lips on mine. I can taste his salty tears as they flow, my hands loosening their hold on his face, but not letting go. I always restrain myself when I kiss him, I'm scared to... I don't know... taint him, I guess. Taint his light. Whatever you want to call it. I've had nothing but darkness in my life, he doesn't deserve that.

But want and deservation are two different things.

Because clearly his kiss is asking for a little more. Like if he's taking matters into his own hands, his lips move a little on mine, and I do so in response, enjoying it.

And then he decides to break in.

At first I'm not sure just what happened, but I realize it's that he pried my lips open and is now dutifully exploring my mouth. But the feeling is like fierce, subtle sparks wherever we touch; hands, lips, tongues as we wind them in a heated battle. I move my head slightly to have more levrage, making a sound that I can't describe in the back of my throat.

His hands hold my back so softly, but also so close, it's like if we're going to merge. Parting moments for air, but coming back, just to feel those little sparks and the fire we can feel. MY face is ten shades of crimson, but his own face feels hot to the touch too.

And then he pulls back completely, shattering the moment, but it still hangs in the air. His tears continue, but slower this time.

"I hate my father." He says so softly I think I misheard him. I kiss his upper lip a fraction of a second, always mere inches apart.

"Look on the bright side: you have a mother again."

He shakes his head subtly.

"She's not how I remember her."

"You've grown a little. It's normal." He sighs at that, but nods.

"Sorry." He whispers, looking down, but forehead still plastered to mine. "I don't know why I..."

"Don't." I smile. "It's fine. It was nice." He looks at me.

"I'm glad you're here." He tells me, sincerity ringing in his voice. "You're the awesomest friend I've ever had."

I laugh a little, humoring his little joke.

"I think I am entitled to a slightly different title." I grin, making him smile.

"Very well." He sighs in mock annoyance, lips still smiling. "You're the best boyfriend I've ever had."

"Hopefully to be your first kiss and your last goodbye." It makes him laugh.

"That you are." His eyes lower a little. "Thank you."

"Anytime."

"Oh, but before we go to sleep, can I tell you something?" He asks. I raise an inquisitive eyebrow.

He gives me both the shortest of kisses, and the sweetest of them.

"Read my lips." He says, an inch from mine, and then he mouths his words, making me smile.

"Read mine." I mimmick his words. Now he smiles.

And hesitantly we pull apart, but our hands stay linked together.

Maybe, just maybe, everything will be okay.

* * *

_Unknown_

_And the last place is the one place no one would dream of._

_

* * *

_

I am so proud of myself! (that, or I am the worlds biggest nerd) *Ahem* moving on.

I like this chappy =3 It's a little wordy but we learn a lot more about Sora. Roxas we kinda know his whole life, since it's been nothing but pain after pain after pain.

Stay tuned and DON'T FLIP THE CHANNEL! XD


	10. The Descision of Happiness

Now let's see if we can top off the last chapter with something fun! But first, on to the Reviews!

To Scarletnight13: Don't worry, I plan on finishing this story! I'm into it as much as all of you are now XD And I'm glad you like it enough to wait for the chapters as they come =3 I will do my best to make the chapters good!

To the Poet's Raven: Yes, I mentioned in the first chapter or the second that the Hikari's are royalty, so therefore, he is the heir to a throne. =3 Which one, however, I do not know XD And as for that someplane no one would think of, I'll give you a hint; it's coming up this chapter! XD

To Moe10: I've never had Arizona tea. Now I'm curious XD But I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter =3

To Poseidon's-Princess: Sorry about the cliffhanger! XD But I'm glad you liked the chapter anyways =D

To Tera Loveless Uchiha: I know, I was thinking that making Roxas a little protective was kinda cute, too =3 And if it was Sora's father, he wouldn't have called him 'son.' I kinda feel bad for making his dad hate him like that =( But that's Ansem for you XD

To Kingdom hearts birth by sleep: Sorry for the cliffhanger!

HOMFG 4,000 words! A NEW GUINESS WORLD RECCORD! WOOOOOO~! *Crowd cheers and throws flowers* XD Ignore that.

And now, on to the chapter! Let me know if you'd like to see something show up in the story, like a scene or something, I don't know, or if you want a story/one-shot written about something specific. I'm open to all suggestions, good or bad =3

* * *

**Paper Moon**

**Chapter 10 (DOUBLE DIGITS PEOPLE! WOOT!)**

**The Descision of Happiness**

_Roxas_

It was very dark, but he was right there beside me anyways, even though he had told me he was scared to death of it. He was shaking, but the voices outside the door made us more than unwilling to exit our hiding place. Sora had his hands firmly clasped on mine, so much so that I could tell they were white, though the light streaming from underneath the door left much to be guessed at. It outlined his features, but other than that, it was dark.

"_We have heard talk from someone saying that the boy walked into these grounds yesterday, with a brunette beside him._" The voice was muffled behind the doorway, but shadows danced in front of the light sometimes, casting shadows in the small little closet.

_We'll be fine._ I repeat over and over in my head. _Evelyn will get rid of the investigators._

"_I do not know what you are talking about._" She says tersley, and Sora leans closer to me, his shaking near uncontrollable. Freeing one hand, I put it around his shoulders and hug him closer to me, and he buries his face into my collarbone.

_"I'm sorry."_ Sora whispers, his shivering calming down some. _"It's my fault."_

I shake my head, wrapping my other arm around him and clasping my hands behind his back. He wraps his around my waist, the wall pressed up tightly against my back as he hides his head.

The talking between Sora's mother and the investigators continue for some time, talk going from where I am, to where she saw me, _if_ she saw me. She's an amazing liar, I'll give her that.

And then shadows dance again in front of our only source of light, and I'm whispering into Sora's ear over and over _I love you, I always will._ The shadows fall back, and the door opens, my heart hammering in my ribs, so much that I'm sure it'll explode.

But the face I see is one that calms me, not one that frightens me. Evelyn smiles at me as I look up at her, Sora turning his head to the sudden burst of light. He smiles too, not at all flustered at his mother seeing us like that, hugging each other as if we're the last link to sanity. We disentangle and Sora helps me stand, my legs numb from having sat there for so long. Evelyn closes the door behind us.

"I hope I got rid of them." She sighs. "If I could, I think I would adopt you so they would not send you away. You always seem to remind me of a more chiseled version of Sora." She smiles, ruffling Sora's hair and making him whine.

"Can you mom?" He asks, eyes sparkling. She laughs.

"Of course I can." She says. "But it is up to him to decide."

"Are you kidding?" I jump onto Sora's back, causing him to loose his balance and cry out in surprise. "Of course I would want!" I hide Sora's eyes as he walks around blindly in circles, trying to pry my hands off. His mother laughs, and laughs even harder when he leans too far behind and makes us fall to the floor. I join in her laughter, and Sora laughs too as he rolls onto his stomach, still over me.

"Then how would you like it if I called an adopting agent today and had her come fill out the papers here? She's a close friend of mine, so she'll be more than happy to." She kneels beside us, not commenting on the fact that Sora's lying on top of me in what could be a suggestive position for some people. (A.N.: By the gods that doesn't sound like Roxas, but hey, at least he's honest.)

"Yeah!" Sora's eyes light up even more, and with a smile Evelyn walks out of the room. Sora turns his eyes on me, and I swear if his eyes shine more, it'll look like if glitter was thrown onto them.

"Your mom is really cool." I tell him. He nods frantically.

"She knows you'll be sent to an orphanage, even at seventeen. And no one would adopt you because nowadays people just want little children and babies." He sighs, his chin resting on my chest and his hands over my own.

"Yeah. I don't think my parents are going to be allowed to have a child anymore."

"Not that they'll get the chance in prison."

We laugh a little at that.

"But what about your father?" I ask hesitantly. He becomes silent a moment, lost in thought.

"My father can go to hell." He says firmly just as Evelyn comes back in.

"I thought you two would still be like that." She laughs, sitting down on the ground beside us. We smile at her, but we don't move. It's actually quite comfortable. "She should be here soon. I'll explain the situation to her when she arrives. But I might suggest that you two don't stick around like that while she's here. She's..."

"Homophobic?" Sora interjects. Evelyn nods.

"Yes. Why don't you go get some snacks from Karyn, and bring them here?" She suggests. Nodding, Sora uses my stomach as a surface for his hands to push himself up, making me gasp as the breath is pushed out of me. Apologizing he helps me up, and, as a small token of my gratitude, I run after him, he screaming in mock horror as we run down towards the kitchen.

* * *

_Sora_

I bounce on the sofa, sleep not quite stopping my anxiety as the woman signs a piece of paper, motioning to Roxas to sign somewhere on it, and mom too. It's been the same thing for a while now, but finally the woman hands mom a piece of paper, puts the rest into her briefcase, and stands, shaking mom's hand. Mom walks out with her, and as soon as he's sure she's far enough away, he tackles me from where I sit, causing me to fall on my side. I turn myself onto my back underneath him while he lies there, smiling and laughing.

"So now I'm going to be able to stay with you!" He says joyfully, hugging his face into my neck. I laugh with him as I return his hug, burying my own face into his golden yellow hair.

"You two look like five year olds." We hear. We both look up at May, who is picking up the tray of snacks we'd brought. We stick out our tongues at her, and she laughs, retreating out of the room.

"I don't think I was ever this happy." He sighs, head resting sideways on my collarbone. His finger makes tapping motions on my shoulder. "It might be because of my pa- my former parents."

"Tell me about that someday." I say. He nods.

"If you tell me about your life when you were younger." He counters.

"Of course." I rest the side of my head on the top of his, watching his hand as his finger taps on my shoulder. "Everything will be alright now, won't it?"

"Yep." He agrees silently.

~~(^w^)~~

I grumble as I wake up, my eyes opening to darkness. Rolling over onto my back, I check the time on the digital clock on the bedside.

_2:15 am_. I hold back a groan as I roll back onto my side, intent on getting back to sleep.

A weight shifts to the side, and I make another sound of protest, taking the blanket and pulling it up over my head.

"Did I wake you up?" He asks. I open groggy eyes and lift the blanket up. His face is illuminated red with the glow of the numbers on the clock. "Sorry."

"'salright." I mumble into the pillow, turning around so I face him as he gets back in, his hands obviously cold as he tries to warm them up. "Where'd you go?"

"Bathroom." He says, as if it should be obvious. I crack into a grin despite myself. "Goodnight." He touches his lips to my forehead before settling back down, about three inches from me. His forehead leans on mine, hair ticking me and his breath fanning on me as his breathing slows.

And, always ever the surpriser, when my eyes are closed, he puts his lips to my parted lips, like he usually does every night before we fall asleep.

"Goodnight." I whisper in return, a smile plasted on my face as I lean my forehead onto his collarbone. I feel the weight of his head as he leans it over mine, arms wrapping around me as if to shield me.

And I feel safe there.

* * *

_Roxas_

_My dream is a little weird. Sora's about five years old, swinging on a swingset as I push him, the same age as he is, laughing. He shines like a bright darkness against the bright blue of the sky._

_"We'll always be best friends, right?" He asks as the swing comes to a stop, he getting off. I smile and laugh with him as I sit onto the warmed up swing. He goes behind me and pushes on my back to get me to swing._

_"Yep!" I reply as I go higher. A car stops at the edge of the park we're in, our mother sitting on the park bench. Sora pushes me again as a crack fills the silence of laughter and talk. I can hear our mother scream as the car pulls away. I step off the swing, turning around to look for Sora._

"Get up!" The air is knocked out of me as something sits down hard onto my stomach. I gasp and take a breath as I open my eyes, Sora smiling as he sits there on my lower stomach, hands on my shoulders.

_He's not dead... of course not!_ I mentally chide myself. _That was just a dream. Thank God..._

"Ow..." I groan and he just laughs, smiling at me.

"Sorry! But I wanted you to get up so we could go do something!"

"Like what?" I ask, rubbing my eyes. He shrugs.

"How about breakfast, and then we could find that out?" I nod. He grins. "Morning."

"Hell of a wake up call." I sigh, but I'm smiling. "Good morning to you too." He presses his lips over mine, soft and gentle as his hands loosen over my shoulders and snake to behind my head. His chest just barely touches mine, my own hands in between his shoulderblades to press him a little closer. He sighs, fingers going through my hair as he pulls back just an inch.

"Do you know what?" He starts. I shake my head slightly. "Technically, that agent made us brothers."

"All the more fun." I laugh once, but we're talking really low. He laughs in agreement. "Now, are you gonna talk, or...?"

Grinning he lowers his lips onto mine again, prying them open and snaking his tongue through. I make that same small sound in the back of my throat again, which sounds like the moan of a zombie, just more... alive. He chuckles, and when I open my eyes halfway, still battling it out in futile with him, I notice he's looking at me.

"I wanna try something." He says as he pulls back an inch, and gliding his lips along my jawline until he reaches my ear. My face flushes for some reason as my heart rate increases. A jolt goes through me when I feel something run along my earlobe, and I can't help it. I let out the sound that sounds like a moan from my lips, my nails digging into his back. "This is turning out to be fun." I hear him whisper, sending shivers down the length of my body. Now he glides his lips down my neck, stopping at where I can feel my heart beating in my neck. He passes his tongue on it, making my back arch involuntarily as I gasp. (A.N.: Ahah, naughty Sora XD I'm having fun here, sorry XD But no lemon, I promise =3 This one will stay as clean as my mind will let it be XD Makes you wonder what _he_ dreamed of...)

"S-sora? What're you d-doing?" I manage to say. He pauses, lips hovering over that very same spot.

"I'm not sure." He admits. "But it's fun. And you seem to like it." I turn my face away as it flushes further. "I can tell by your heartbeat." He sings, and presses his lips onto that same spot as he does a sort of sucking, making my back arch and I put one hand to my mouth to stop myself from making more noises. My other hand continues to claw at his back.

"Aww, Roxie." He purrs, bringing his face up again to my cheeks. His nickname makes me flush all the more, and I'm sure all the blood in my body is concentrated there. "You were making such beautiful noises."

Slowly he pries my hand from my mouth, replacing it with his own lips and, not needing to pry them open as I do that myself, he goes and kisses me in that mind-blowing way again. My chest heaving as we pause for breath, he whispers in my ear.

"Sorry." He says, voice a little low. "I just-"

"Shut up." I hiss, making him look at me. Smiling I stop his question by kissing him again, which seems to make him happy.

* * *

_Sora_ (A.N.: Mini brainfart, sorry. This may get a little perverted, mostly because I wanna put this here _just for fun!_ XD I dunno, blame my friends for making me so whacked in the brain nowadays. Sora's sounding SO OOC XD)

He makes more noises the more I lick his earlobe, and everytime he gasps I end up wanting him to feel so much _more_. One of my hands travels the length of his stomach, my dream still in my mind. I'd never had a dream like that, but then again, Roxas isn't the same as everyone else. He's a gasping mess in no time, his throat obviously sore. I glide my lips over it, tasting his skin. And whenever he forms the first syllable of the words he wants to say _'Please stop'_, he closes his mouth again, hand digging into my back a little painfully, but nothing I can't handle. He's blushing all the way into his shirt, and the want of finding out just how far his blush goes is there in my mind.

Somehow my hand ends up underneath his shirt, and he does nothing to stop me as it slides slowly up his stomach, and I pause just where his heart is hammering away in his chest, he gasping in my ear as I pause my torture on his neck, looking up at his eyes, which are half-lidded, looking very glazed. He seems to read my intention in my eyes, for he nods numbly, swallowing. I remove y other hand from underneath his hair, and I gently and slowly unbutton his shirt, leaving it open. Satisfying my curiosity, I find out he's blushing to about one third down his chest. Using my hands I slide the edges of the unbuttoned shirt to his sides, exposing his entire torso, passing my hands over it a few times. His eyes are closed again, and he's panting.

"S-sora." He says silently, almost pleading. Seeing him like that I feel a jolt run through me, and thoughts and images of what May has described to me as gay love flit through my mind - she enjoys reading novels and watching shows with those - and it takes a great effort to push them back. He brings my head up to his and presses his lips on mine, letting go of my head as I pass my tongue through his lips, attacking his own. With one hand behind my head and another on my chest, he slowly undoes my own shirt. When he undoes the last button it hangs limply on me, letting my head go to let himself breathe, gasping now more than ever. I slowly trail my mouth down, stopping at his blush with a smirk, still sitting on him.

My hands, by now, are at his shoulders, and I bring them to his back, gently pushing off the sleeves of the shirt for some reason, until he's lying there underneath me, top half naked. But I know very well that that is as far as I will make us go.

Curse May for putting thoughts like these into my mind sometimes.

I can tell he knows that I plan on not letting it go any further than that, but he still pushes my own shirt off of my arms, letting it slide off my back to the side. So now it's bare skin on bare skin, sending tingles of electricity through me. I kiss just at the little nub, causing him to suck in a breath as I grin.

Which is exactly where his blush stretches out to.

His own hands are running along my bare back, and his nails dig into my skin as I take it into my mouth, his back arching once again.

"_Damn._" He hisses as I pass my tongue over it, forever torturing him. He takes shallow breaths as I come back up to his neck.

I go along his shoulder, smiling as I run my tongue along it.

"Tell me whenever you want me to stop." I tell him, coming back to his neck and that spot he always makes noises when I touch.

"God no." He gasps, giving me the pleasure of a small moan, his face red, yet his eyes are shining, but still glazed. "Never."

"That's a hard wish to grant." I chuckle against his skin.

"One day it won't be." He counters in a gasp.

"I'll let you know when I can do this so it feels like forever." I push the thought of something from my mind as my lips leave his skin completely, though my hands stay on his chest as I sit up somewhat straight again. He tries to take deeper breaths as he turns his head from its position sideways, looking at me with his glazed eyes half closed.

God knows I wanted to just... just _take_ him. He looks like an Angel trapped in euphoria, experiencing it for the first time, and coming down from a high.

"Someday." He smiles, his neck red at the base near his collarbone, but that's my fault. His eyes run over my chest, his hand lifting up and brushing over a small scar right over my heart. Emotion starts to come back into his eyes other than the glazed look. He sits up a little to look at it closer. "What happened?"

"I'll tell you on the day you tell me everything that happened to you." I tell him, putting my lips onto the corner of his mouth. He smiles against my lips.

"Alright." As I pull back his hand grabs my shirt, and I get off of him, sitting beside him as he sits up and gives me mine. Just as I'm about to button it up, he leans in and kisses me on my scar, smiling at me when I give him a questioning stare.

"I love you." He says, shirt still unbuttoned but hanging on his shoulders as he leans in and kisses me gently on the lips. I lean into it at the same time he does, pulling back at the same time.

"I already knew that. Remember when we hid in the closet?" He nods, still so close to my lips. "You told me that twenty eight times."

"You counted?" He asks, always getting a little closer.

"Of course." An inch away now. "I love you too, I always will." No distance seperates us anymore.

And maybe someday we'll both get to be together as a whole.

* * *

Ahaha, I should stop listening to myself. Sorry for that, I don't know what came over me. Maybe because I haven't had supper yet and I'm eating cookies and I'm hyper? Yeah, that's it! *is jumping on the walls*

Perverted Sora is so... OOC! XD It was so funny and so weird to write him like that... or should I call him horny Sora? Meh, whichever. Have fun trying to guess his dream (It's not hard, really)

This is now the ONLY CHANNEL you can EVER flip to! I has taken over the internet and I now have control of its settings! 8D


	11. Worth Dying For

**Chapter eleven!** I really enjoyed writing the last chapter, much as I had my face boiling from writing such a scene, because my mind kept going to what I could make them do... shows what I do in my free time XD Kidding. I think a new alter-persona is being made, crap it all XD I wonder what her name will be XD

Reviews time!

To Tera Loveless Uchiha: Ahah, I found that part really cute to write as well as read over. I kinda gave him scar out on a whim, though. Glad you found Sora's reply cute as well ^^ You almost fainted? Damn, I only almost made the laptop explode by going on to write a scene I _didn't_ want to write in such detail... glad I didn't.

This chapter is fairly boring to me, but yeah, it's almost time for me to go shoot sheep in my sleep with my sniper rifle, so it might be normal that it sucks. Not a lot of words too, sorry. The song in the chapter is _Gotta Be Somebody by Nickelback_... it's an awesome band with awesome songs. I wanted to use the song _I'd Come For You,_ because it suits them better, but by then I'd already typed the song, so I didn't. But I'll use it at some point.

Okay! Send me a message in a bottle via snowball-throwing snowmen found all over the world now if you want to see something show up in here like a particular scene, no matter how explicit or whatever... I'll fit it in somewhere. I am for the fans! XD And I mean the fans on the ceiling, you know... kidding XD Or if you want a story/one-shot about a certain subject, let me know!

Enjoy Paper Moon!

* * *

**Paper Moon**

**Chapter Eleven**

**Worth Dying For**

_Roxas_

**This time, I wonder what it feels like, t****o find the one in this life.**

**The one we all dream of, b****ut dreams just aren't enough.**

**So I'll be waiting for the real thing, I'll know it by the feeling,**

My head lying on his chest as he fumbles around with the radio he dragged out beside us, sunlight trying to penetrate the shade we're lying on the grass in.

"Sorry I can't have too much sunlight hit me." I apologize. He chuckles and settles back his arm behind his head, his other arm around my shoulders. Both my hands rest gently on his chest underneath my chin.

"It's not your fault." He tells me, looking to the sky as I watch him. "This is just as nice."

I hum my agreement, closing my eyes again as the sound of birds flit through my ears.

**The moment when we're meeting, will play out like a scene, **

**Straight off the silver screen.**

**So I'll be holding my own breath, right up 'till the end,**

**Until the moment when, I find the one I'll spend forever with.**

Sora sings softly along to the song. He looks at me from the corner of his eyes as I smile.

"What?" He asks.

"Who is that?" I ask, gesturing to the radio with my nose.

"Nickelback." He grins. "It's called Gotta Be Somebody."

"It's a nice song." I tell him.

"It get's better."

**Cause nobody wants to be the last one there,**

**Cause everybody wants to feel like someone cares.**

**Someone to love with my life in their hands,**

**There's gotta be somebody for me like that.**

I close my eyes and lean in a little closer against him, smiling as I listen to his gentle voice flitting through the notes. He brings his hand from my back up to my cheek and gently passes his fingers on it.

**Cause nobody wants to do it on their own,**

**And everyone wants to know they're not alone.**

**There's somebody else that feels the same somewhere,**

**There's gotta be somebody for me out there.**

I start humming the tune to myself as he sings, making him laugh a little to himself.

**Tonight, out in the street out in the moonlight,**

**And damnit this feels too right.**

**It's just like deja vu,**

**Me standing here with you.**

"You know what?" He asks suddenly, making me open my eyes and look at him. "I really enjoy myself nowadays. Thank you."

"Well, we mostly do what you think would be amusing, don't forget." I tell him with a smile. "I'd do anything you asked me."

"Oh, really now?"

"Yep." He laughs again, sighing.

**So I'll be holding my own breath, could this be the end?**

**Is it that moment when I'll find the one to spend forever with?**

**Cause nobody wants to be the last one there,**

**Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares.**

I'd started singing the chorus with him a little - I catch on quick - making him smile.

**Someone to love with my life in their hands,**

**There's gotta be somebody for me like that.**

**Cause nobody wants to do it on their own,**

**And everyone wants to know they're not alone.**

I had brought my left hand up to his cheek, using my right elbow to push myself in level with him with a smile as he turns his head to look at me, my hand sitting gently on his cheek.

**There's somebody else that feels the same somewhere,**

**There's gotta be somebody for me out there.**

**You can't give up, looking for a diamond in the rough,**

**You never know, when it shows up, make sure you're holding on.**

He smiles at me, a thought passing through his eyes that I know he wanted me to see.

_I am._ My lips curve into a smile, my index finger making little circles on his cheek as he leans his forehead on my own, eyes boring into mine.

**Cause it could be the one, the one you're waiting on.**

**Cause nobody wants to be the last one there,**

**And everyone wants to feel like someone cares.**

**Someone to love with my life in their hands,**

**There's gotta be somebody for me,**

**Nobody wants to do it on their own,**

**And everyone wants to know they're not alone.**

He grins as I stick out my tongue at him randomly, returning the favor.

**There's somebody else that feels the same somewhere,**

**There's gotta be somebody for me out there.**

**Nobody wants to be the last one there, **

**Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares.**

**There's somebody else that feels the same somewhere,**

**There' gotta be somebody for me out there.**

"The scar..." he starts after a moment of silence between our parts, the song the radio announcer proclaims as _Missing _by _Avril Lavigne_ starting to play. "My father gave it to me."

I stay silent, drawing patterns with my index finger on his cheek still, allowing him to take a breath and gather courage.

"He was mad." His eyes look like if he's been taken back into a memory he's afraid of. "He never liked it when I play the piano. He's wanted me to be a violin prodigy since I was born, but I was a piano prodigy instead. I was playing with my cat - something must have happened at work, because he came storming in to take out his anger on me, like he always did. Mom was out of town for the while, so he just came in and slapped me across the face." His hand on my cheek stopped moving.

"He wore steel-toed boots that day, and while I lay on the ground holding my cheek he kicked me in the stomach. The first time it only hurt, but then he would kick a little harder, until he split the skin." He grew silent.

"It's easy to know what happened to me." I tell him, trying to change his thoughts. "My mother was a gambler, so we had no money. My father was always drunk, so he was always mad. He's the only person I know to ever be able to get drunk at seven in the morning."

His fingers start stroking my face again."

"Both of our lives were pretty messed up, huh?" He laughs to himself once. I nod.

"It'll get better." I promise him. He smiles at me, brushing a strand of hair from my forehead.

"I know. And someday it'll be just the two of us, and no one will be able to get in the way of what we want."

"When we're eighteen?"

"Of course. We'll run if we have to, just to be together."

I nod, smiling.

"We'll run."

~~(#w#)~~

"Is this a violin?" I ask him, examining the instrument in my hands. It looks like a mini guitar, though far more elegant.

"Yeah. You can try it if you want. Just run that rod on the strings in different angles."

I nod, placing the chinrest underneath my chin and placing my chin on it, holding the end of the violin in my right hand and the rod in my left, poised on the strings.

"They taught this at my school in the music course." I say with a small laugh, passing a testing slide. It makes a gentle sound in return, Sora looking up at me in surprise from behind the piano.

"Try that again." I do the same thing again in reverse, making a low note. "Try making a lot of notes together, to this beat." He starts gliding his hands over the keys to the piano, and after listening a moment to the gentle rhythm, I put the rod to the strings and follow along.

I can see him smile out of the corner of my eyes as the sounds mix together, creating a symphony of gentle notes as they wave together. It sounds like a slightly depressing song with the violin adding a tune, but it's nice.

He smoothes out the rhythm at some point, so I follow suit and don't make the notes as hard. I don't know how I do it, I just do. I go to stand beside the piano, watching his hands glide over the keys. He slows it down, making me follow suit, until he presses one final key, I following suit and letting the note slide out into silence.

"That was amazing." He says with a smile. "Have you ever played before?"

"No... you could only take music class if you could pay for your instrument." I say with a sigh, sitting down next to him. He takes the violin from my hands and places it onto the piano.

"Well I find it was simply amazing, and they missed out on a hell of a good violinist." He wraps his arms around me, head on my shoulder. I wrap my own around him.

"Thank you. They would have killed for a good pianist like you, however." I say with a smile. "The best one that could play was... Robby, I think, and he was _terrible_ at it."

He chuckles.

"Seems he embarrassed them greatly at the recital in front of the board." I grin this time. He laughs louder.

"Public school sounds like so much fun." He sighs. "I wish I could have gone."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because they don't have enough security, is what the family thought. And I'm the heir to the throne of this God-forsaken country(A.N.: The country that Shall Not Be Named - gods I'm sounding like if I'm quoting from _Harry Potter_,*Clears throat*: _"He Who Shall Not Be Named_." _OMG VOLDEMORT! _Ahah), so there are a lot of kidnappers that would like to get their hands on me. They can fetch a good price for me on the black market, too, it seems."

"That's... odd..." I say after a moment. He laughs.

"Yeah, it is." He looks down a moment. "I'm surprised that the first time that you knew who I was, you didn't bow."

"Of course not. No one likes that except for power-hungry people. And you didn't strike me that way, you looked much kinder to me than that."

"You're the first who ever thought that way. Thank you." He gives me a chaste kiss as a way of showing it. "Wait... _looked_, as in the past tense?"

"Yes."

"So now what do you think I look like?" He asks, eyebrows creased.

I grin and bring my lips to his ear.

"Just about ravishing." I bite his earlobe just for the hell of it, causing him to yelp at the same time that he lets out an involuntary moan. _Revenge is sweet._

"Hey, that was highly unnecesary." He says curtly, blushing from his cheeks down to his neck. I smile.

"Revenge for this morning." I sing in his ear as I pull back. "And it seems to me like you enjoyed it, Sor."

He huffs, but he avoids eye contact.

"Are you gonna call me like that all the time?"

I shrug.

"If you want me to." He looks at me.

"Only if I get to call you Roxie, or Rox." He counters. I think a moment, humming to myself.

"Deal." We seal the deal with a kiss almost as quick as the last.

* * *

Alrighty. As before, you MAY NOT CHANGE THE CHANNEL ANYMORE! This story has taken over the net and is now an almighty-powerful being named Bob.

Yes, that's right. Bob.

It stands for... uhhh... Being Overly Boring. Yup. Bow down to It's almightyness! 8D

Enough of my crazed dillusions. See you all soon!


	12. Angel's Wings

**Chapter TWELVE! Woot!** Ahah, I almost didn't upload one today because I was drawing most of the time, and I drew a scene from this story! I found it so cute, even if I messed up one of Roxas' legs (found out after inking it) I may upload it onto Deviantart, and I'll let you guys know if I do ^^

Reviews time!

To Poseidon's-Princess: Being demented is fun =3 I quite enjoy it XD

To Tera Loveless Uchiha: Nickelback is an awesome band =3 And yeah, I feel really bad for making Sora's father hate him so much... poor kid =( And I don't know why, I decided to make Roxas a sort-of violin prodigy XD And thank the fact that I can type so fast my hands turn to mush for the quick updates XD But I am very glad you enjoy this story very much =3

To il2swim57: Ahah, that anagram made me laugh! XD Your welcome, and I don't know why there is so much fluff, really. Meh, oh well =3

Give me a nudge if you want something to show up in this story, like a scene or chapter, and no matter how explicit, I will put it down =3 And if you want me to make another story/one-shot on a certain subject, feel free to tell me.

On to the chapter!

* * *

**Paper Moon**

**Chapter Twelve**

**Angel's wings**

_Roxas_

"Come on!" Sora urges, climbing onto the next branch. I stop at the first one, gasping slightly.

"Yeah, well, I haven't really ever climbed a tree before!" I shoot back, grabbing the next branch and hoisting myself onto it. "Why are we climbing this tree anyways?"

"Because the sunset is prettier from up high, and a tree is just right!" I sigh. Of course.

"Gimme a second." I grunt as I pull myself onto the branch he's sitting on, leaning back against the tree trunk as I place myself. "God, what I wouldn't give for a pair of wings."

"You probably do have some." He smiles as I give him a quizzical look. "All angels have wings."

I make a sound at the back of my throat, but he's looking to the horzon with a smile.

"Why do you think that?" I ask after some time, watching the sky as well.

"Think what?" He swings his legs underneath him.

"That I'm an angel." I shrug. "For all I know, I've got nothing in me like that."

"Aw c'mon, you know that's not true!" He protests, turning his attention on me, eyes completely serious.

"How so?" He pouts a moment, thinking.

"Because you're too nice to be anything else." He says simply, turning his head back to the sky.

I open my mouth to speak, but I'm interrupted.

"Young masters!" We both look down to the grass, me making a confused face at the _masters_ part, like if she's including me. "Your father is here!" May calls out from underneath the tree.

Sora goes rigid, his legs stopping their swinging motion.

"Is he coming this way?" I ask her, since he's unable to speak.

"No, he is talking to the Mistress." She says. "I must leave, or he will know you are here!" She bows quickly, running back towards the house with her skirts in hand. I look at him, but he's looking to the ground.

"We'll stay up here." I say. "Until May comes back, or until nightfall. We'll sneak back in or something, and avoid him." He nods, turning his eyes onto me.

"Thank you." He says, voice low and shaky. I put my arm around him in comfort, and we turn our eyes to the sunset, trying to forget many things, he his father, and I mine.

~~(o.o)~~

The sun is set by the time we're both wrenched out of our thoughts, the sound of footfalls coming from underneath the tree. I look down, and all I see is a broad-shouldered man a few feet from the base of the tree, with white hair that is pretty long, and I can't see his eyes. But the very sight of the man makes me cringe back a little, as if he holds the power to erase me from this world.

**Why are you striving these days?  
Why are you trying to earn grace?**

"Sora," the man says stiffly. "I know you're not far from here. Stop fooling around and act your age."

_He certainly isn't._ I scoff in my mind as I follow a reluctant Sora down the tree, jumping from the last branch onto the ground. I turn and catch Sora as he jumps down to slow his fall, and very slowly, reluctantly, as if he's about to bolt, Sora turns to look at the man.

"Yes... father?" He says gently, as if he knows one wrong word will result in some sort of pain. He sounds small, scared, and alone.

"Who is this?" He asks, jutting his nose towards me. I keep my face impassive as I watch him, returning his cold stare. I don't reply his question by giving him the satisfaction of an answer. He clearly wants _me_ to tell him, but there is no law saying I must.

"I asked you a question, _boy_." He says through his teeth, golden eyes trying to break me.

"I know." I tell him evenly, returning his penetrating gaze. His arm twitches, and I'm thrown to the side, grass coming to meet my right side hard.

I sit there, half-lying down onto the ground, left hand over my cheek as my right hand barely manages to hold me up, eyes wide at the stinging pain. Images of thousands of days fly through my mind, my father always the one in the spotlight, standing over me, bottle in one hand and other hand always so near my throat, my mother passed out on the couch for some reason, the light always so dim. I was never allowed to make a sound. No matter the _pain_. If I did, things were just worse. If not a bottle, the side of the counter met my face. Or my hair was burned off my scalp.

"Stop it!" Sora's exclamation brings me from the nightmares, and I look up as he plants himself in between me and his father, eyes streaming tears and a defiant look in them. "Don't hurt him!"

**Why are you crying?  
Let me lift up your face.  
Just don't turn away.**

"Why? People are _always_ in the way, Sora. They only serve to stand in the way." Sora's hands start to shake as his father continues. "They are but distractions, like this boy. But you were always too soft to know that, to ever appreciate my teachings. You were scum from the start."

"Don't you _dare_ say another word." I hiss at him, having stood slowly to my feet at his words and I now have a hand holding the arm he was about to strike Sora with. He jerks it from my grasp. "Sora is a far better person than you will _ever_ be."

"Who are you?" He snaps at me again. I can tell this man only knows how to argue, not discuss.

"I am Roxas Strife." I say just as harshly.

"Then why, pray tell, do you defend such a useless person?" He asks me. I grit my teeth, and I can't help it. I explode.

"Because I owe him my life, goddamnit!" I shout in his face. "Not only that, I owe him my soul, and every other goddamn life I'll _ever_ have! You just don't fucking understand that your son is just fine the way he is because you're obsessed with the fact that he isn't the son _you_ wanted! Well, you know what, I've had it up to here with your goddamn repulsion. Take your goddamn ass and take a fucking walk or whatever, but don't you _ever_ say such a fucking thing to him again." I hiss out the last part, grabbing Sora's hand and bolting towards the thicker part of the forest that is part of the vast yard. (A.N.: Ooooo, Roxas sounds like the real him now! He's brought out the big guns =3 XD)

"Roxas..." Sora starts. I shake my head.

**Why are you looking for love?  
Why are you searching as if I'm not enough?  
To where will you go child?  
Tell me where will you run,  
To where will you go?**

He stays quiet as I pull him along, intent on putting some distance between him and us. Why are some people so goddamn stupid.

"Because they never learn." Sora says quietly, making me realize I'd said my thought aloud. I slow down a little, stopping moments later near a very large tree. I look around to see if he'd followed us.

"Thank you..." He continues, making me look at him. He was looking at his feet, but now he lifts his head up to look at me. His eyes are filled with awe and gratitude. "For stopping father... not even grown men have the guts to do that."

"I wouldn't care if he was the fucking king of _England_." I sigh, turning completely to look at him.

"Do you always cuss like that?" He asks, tilting his head a little to the side in curiosity.

"Not really." I laugh shakily. "I think I was just mad enough to do that... but I wanted to call him so many things..."

He wraps his arms around my waist, shaking his head as he rests it on my chest.

"No need." He whispers as I return his embrace. "Standing up to him like that was good enough for me."

"I want him to hurt like you did." I sigh, resting my chin on his spiked brown hair. "No one should be allowed to hurt you like that."

**And I'll be by your side  
Wherever you fall.  
In the dead of night  
Whenever you call.  
And please don't fight  
These hands that are holding you.  
My hands are holding you.**

"Right now," he starts, laughing a little. "Only one person in the world could hurt me much more than he ever could."

"Who?"

He steps back and grabs my hands, placing them gently over his heart, which I can feel beating softly underneath my hands.

"My own little angel." He says cheerfully. I smile.

"If I'm an angel, then what does that make you?" I ask. He smiles up at me in return.

"The opposite of an angel, since we're different, but the same. I'd be a fallen angel, or, better yet, a demon."

"That sounds correct."

**Look at these hands, and my side.  
They swallowed the grave, on that night.  
When I drank the world's sin  
So I could carry you in  
And give you life.  
I want to give you life.**

A bush rustles not far away, and we turn our eyes to see his father emerge once again. My lip curls back, and Sora steps in front of me, as if to protect me.

"What do you want?" I snap at him.

"You have some guts to talk to me that way, kid. I don't know who you think you are-"

"He's my Nobody." Sora says stiffly, making me look at him in slight confusion. "And he doesn't think it, he _knows_ it."

"Whatever that means." He takes something from his belt, lifting it up and aiming it at my head. A jolt of fear runs down my back at the sight of the weapon, but Sora only steps more in front of me.

"Step away from him, boy." Ansem says, aiming the gun at me with unblinking eyes. "Unless you wish to die _with _him?"

"I'd rather do that." He says, gazing right into his father's eyes. "Than let you kill him and know for the rest of my life I could have tried to stop you."

"Sora, don't-"

He shakes his head at my protest, turning his head around to look at me.

"It's better that way." He smiles. "And I owe you my life, soul, and any other life I'll live as well."

"He's making a mistake." I smile a knowing smile, and Sora seems to catch on after a moment. We look to him. "If someone dies on your land, won't that make everything suspiscious?" I ask him, but continue without letting him answer. "Plus people will start to wonder iff you're fit to be Royalty, and sooner or later, they'll strip you of your royal status, and you'll be left on the streets to rot." I narrow my eyes. "Just like I was."

His hand falters a moment, which is just what I need.

"Come on!" I shout to Sora, pulling him through the woods again, and this time he leads the way.

**And I'll be by your side  
Wherever you fall.  
In the dead of night  
Whenever you call.  
And please don't fight  
These hands that are holding you.  
My hands are holding you.**

This time we hear no pursuit, but we push on, and I know where he's leading us when a small garden shed shows up between the trees.

"My father wouldn't think of this." He says as he practically shoves me in before him, closing the door after that and locking a deadbolt. He sinks to the ground. "I am so sorry."

"It's not your fault your father is terrible." I tell him with a small smile, crouching beside him.

"I guess." He shrugs.

"By the way," I start, sitting beside him with my back to the wall. "What did you mean by the Nobody thing?"

He hums to himself a moment, thinking.

"I don't know... it just came to me. Just like the idea that I'm your Somebody came to my head, too."

"You can be really strange sometimes." I laugh, making him pout. I bring my knees up to my chest, hugging them to me as I rest my chin on them. "But that's what makes you you."

"Are you alright?" He asks, scooting closer and taking my face in his hands, looking at where his father striked me.

"It's nothing I'm not used to." I tell him. He frowns.

"You _weren't_ used to it anymore. I saw the haunted look in your eyes. It made you think of your father."

"You know me so well." I look down as his fingers brush my cheek soothingly, it probably being an angry red or something. I bruise so easily.

"I wish he hadn't hit you." He sighs. "You'd healed from all your wounds, and here's a new one."

I chuckle to myself a little. "Not all of them."

He raises an eyebrow, and to demonstrate I show him the little red mark he'd left me this morning.

"That one doesn't count." He huffs, blushing a little. I laugh further, and he occupies himself by looking suddenly very interested in my cheek.

"And anyways, you've had your fair share." He says after a moment of silence. Now I raise my eyebrows at him.

"Well, then. Pray tell, where _have_ I left my mark?" I ask.

"My back. Your fingernails did that." He laughs at my face, which probably matches the red of my newfound wound. "And here." He shows me a small cut on his lower lip.

"What am I looking at?" I ask, curious.

"You bit me." He smirks.

"I did?" Huh. News to me.

"Well, I think you were in too high in Cloud Nine to notice." I stick out my tongue at him.

**Cause I, I love you  
I want you to know,  
That I, I love you;  
I'll never let you go.**

"Don't pretend you were the good one." I smirk at my remark. "I'm not the one who instigated it."

"That's highly unfair!" He protests. "I can't control my dreams-"

I jerk my head back slightly at that new tidbit.

"Dreams?" I ask, but he has his head turned away, an amazing shade of scarlet. "Care to tell me?"

"No." He huffs. I chuckle.

"Very well. I'll just assume the worst." I shrug, feigning innocence. He yelps, jumping once in place in shock, turning to face me.

"Alright, alright, fine!" He says in surrender. "I'll tell you." He keeps his head down, eyes hidden from me.

"Go on..." I urge.

"Umm... in my dream, we..." He pauses, hands clenching into fists slightly. I lean forward slightly, curious. "We made..."

Putting two and two together, I jump in place, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Why'd you dream such a thing?" I ask, surprise clearly marked in my voice, and on my face in the form of a huge blush that matches his.

"I don't know! Blame May! She put those toughts into my mind when I asked her a simple question half a year ago!"

We avoid eye contact, finding great interest in the walls.

At least I know a little more about how his mind works.

"Was it..." I start after a while. He laughs nervously, scratching behind his head. (A.N.: We can't blame the kid. By the gods, he's seventeen and never really done that before! Cut him some slack, Roxas!)

"It was... something." He admits. "I wouldn't know, really... but I'd only ever do that with one person."

I blush deeper, finding the floor interesting all of a sudden.

**And I'll be by your side  
Wherever you fall.  
In the dead of night  
Whenever you call.  
Please don't fight  
These hands that are holding you.  
My hands are holding you...**

"Sorry." He sighs. "At least I'm being honest."

"Don't be." I smile at him, lifting my head up. "I don't blame you." (A.N.: There we go!)

"Thanks." He smiles back, face still red. He kisses my cheek gently where his father hit me, lips lingering there. "Someday..." He starts in a whisper, saying the words gently on my skin. "I'll have you enjoy that little moment of forever." I laugh softly.

"I'd like that." He smiles against my cheek. The doorhandle shakes shortly after that.

"Sora? Roxas?" He lifts up his head at his mother's words. "Ansem is gone now... I don't think he'll bother us anymore."

Smiling Sora stands up and undoes the deadbolt, allowing her to enter just as I stand.

"Oh my God! What happened to your face?" She asks worriedly, coming to look at it. I blush slightly, not really used to having people worry about me.

"Get used to it." Sora smiles as she drags me through the forest, he following behind us. "She worries a lot."

"It's nice." I smile back. "Being cared for..."

I mouth some words to Sora while his mother isn't looking, a reply to something his father interrupted me from saying - not in the tree, but when we were in the forest.

_We'll only break each other when we're done living all our lives._ He smiles at that, nodding and pointing his thumb to his chest, where his heart is.

_It's a promise._ He follows me as Evelyn drags me into the house.

* * *

Awwehs, I like this chapter =3 The song is _By Your Side_ by _Tenth Avenue North._ It is an awesome song and whoever disagrees shall be forced to drink orange juice right after brushing their teeth XD

Anyways, until next time.

BOB has now taken over the tv as well, so now you cannot watch tv, only read this. Mouhahahaha, all hail BOB!

I seriously need some sleep XD


	13. An Angel's Heart

Thank you all for your reviews! They made me smile quite litterally like a fool =3 A nice way to end a day, really. And yes, I will post up that drawing, I'll let you all know when it is up =3

Reviews time! (I quite liked them =))

To Scarletnight13: Thank you! Having you tell me I'm a good author made me very happy. And yes, I will jot that down and make a story like that. I have an idea that may suit your fancy using that outline. Thank you for the suggestion!

To Tera Loveless Uchiha: I'm glad you're enjoying this fanfic! I guess that means I can't end it soon (not that I was planning on) And yeah, that line came to me mostly because I was thinking of my Angel character, and of the white wings I couldn't draw AT ALL. Ansem is an ass, it's obvious XD In the game too, he is ._. And that song is epic. Put into the right context, it definetly _will_ make anyone with a heart cry.

To Moe10: I will post it up! =3 What sucks is that I can only draw intimate-ish scenes for some reason (found that out yesterday) without having them look bad. Weird... But no worries, nothing explicit =3 You all read the part I drew, anywhoo.

To il2swim57: I know, right? Insult and run; Roxas' way of attack since... whatever year he was born. And I hope you get better soon, being sick sucks! And I love tha anagram =3 And yes, Adonis is a guy, so Roxas is safe. For now...

Poke me with a stick if you want a story/one-shot about a certain subject. I'll try my best to make it happen!

On to the story!

* * *

**Paper Moon**

**Chapter thirteen**

**An Angel's Heart**

_Sora_

"Ow, Ow, Ow, Ow, OW!" He hisses as mom dabs a cloth soaked in antibacterial liquid.

"Will you stop moving?" She asks with a smile. I laugh in my little corner, watching the spectacle.

"Why should a slap need antibacterial?" He asks, biting his lip as she passes the cloth over it again.

"Because he was wearing a ring inside out and the ring cut your skin. Now _stop moving!_ Sora, hold him down."

"Sorry." I hold my hands up to Roxas as I hold his shoulders to stop him from squirming.

"You're terrible. You'd betray me?" He asks in mock horror, hissing as she wipes the liquid off with a sterile swab. I pout.

"Aw c'mon, you know that's not fair!" I protest. He sticks out his tongue at me and sighs as mom puts a bandaid on it. He rubs his cheek, trying to smooth out the pain as I let go of his shoulders.

"I've never seen a seventeen year old scared of getting a wound dressed." She muses as she puts the antibacterial away in the little medecine case.

"Not my fault." He mumbles, not looking at her. I grin.

"Wanna play a game until we have to go to bed?" I ask, to change his mind. He nods, mother laughing as she exits the room, holding the little medical kit in her hands.

"Which one?" He asks. I hum a moment, grinning after a moment.

"Final Fantasy XIII." I make a spooky music sound after that. (A.N.: Okay, listen. I've only played FFVIII, so I dunno if FFXIII plays at two. I only own a PS1 and a WII XD So me dunno XD Forgive my lack of information =3 I'm wingin' it as I go, and FFXIII is the first thing that came to my mind.)

"I like that number." He says as I walk to the tv and slide the cd into the PS3.

"What? Number thirteen?" I ask, taking the controllers and handing one to him, sitting down hard onto the ground. He joins me, nodding.

"Yeah. It's an unlucky number, and it's also the date of my birthday. To top it off, I was born on a Friday the thirteenth." He grins, while I set the control settings, pressing start soon after.

"I guess we're both unlucky spouses, huh?" I grin back at him. He nods.

"Just about."

"You're so going down, though." I laugh a little evilly, making him gulp.

"Probably." He laughs. "Remember, I'm not too good at these, unlike _someone_ I know." He counters.

"Hey, it's called boredom. You should try it sometimes." He laughs dryly at that, making me smile.

"I'll try to keep that in mind." He shouts in exclamation. "Hah! Score one for the NOOB!"

"Lucky strike." I stick out my tongue at him. (A.N.: I think I'm inventing a whole different game here XD)

"We'll see."

* * *

He snores lightly in my ear as I shut the tv off.

"You seem to like falling asleep on other people, don't you?" I sigh, shaking my head as I stand up, careful not to jostle him. His angelic face just sleeps on. Grunting slightly I pick him up with one arm at his back and another at his knees, he being a little lighter than I thought he'd be. Smiling and grateful that we'd played in the bedroom, I carry him to the bed, lifting off the covers and sliding him in, putting them over him. I sit on the matress a moment, letting out a breath.

"Seriously, you gotta be more careful about that." I say with a smile to his sleeping face. "Really now, looking at you while you sleep, it's not hard to tell whose the angel between the two of us, huh?" I plant a delicate peck on his forehead, right in between his eyebrows. He smiles in his sleep. "I wonder what you're dreaming of." Sighing and standing up, I walk to my dresser and, I not having yet changed into a pj or anything, I take the time to do so, and since he's sleeping I just change in the room and not in the bathroom.

With a yawn I throw myself down onto the matress, arms splayed out to my sides. I look at him.

_Is he starting a fever?_ I ask myself, noticing his slightly red face. _Maybe. We'll see how he's doing in the morning._ I look to the ceiling now as I lie underneath the covers, waiting for sleep to come. But that bores me quickly enough, so I turn onto my side and watch Roxas as he sleeps, his face peaceful. I smile and soon enough I close my eyes, sleep overtaking me.

But I never miss the arms that wrap around my waist, pulling me closer until the heat coming from his body warms me up a little further, and the subtle touch of lips over my own.

* * *

Note to self: A sick Roxas is a strange Roxas.

"I'm wondeirng how you got this cold." I laugh as I, with great patience, make him sit up straight, for the fifth time. I give him a bowl of soup. He nods, quiet as he blows on it to cool it down. "Or maybe cat's got your tongue?"

He shakes his head. "Thinking." He says, which is more words than he's said in an hour thus far. I sigh, leaning my head back against the wall as I watch him eat the soup.

"Are you sure you're alright?" I ask. "You seem... quiet." He avoids my gaze a moment as he concentrates a little too much on his soup. "Roxas, what's wrong?"

"It'll sound crazy." He laughs. I shake my head, sitting on my knees now beside him. He looks at me.

"Nothing you say is crazy."

"Just dillusional."

I frown. He sighs, scratching the back of his head.

"It's stupid and crazy... but I kinda miss my parents a little." He looks away from me. "I shouldn't even..."

"No, you have every right to do so!" I protest, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. "They're your parents, and therefore, you'll miss them to some extent, no matter what."

"Sora." He complains. "You'll get sick too."

"No I won't." I smile at him, causing him to pause in whatever he was going to say. "And if I do, then oh well. I'll share it with you."

He sighs.

"Your morals are messed up." He comments. "But I don't mind that."

"Good." I nuzzle his neck. "Want me to leave you to sleep?"

"Nah. I'm not that tired. And you're blowing this way out of proportion. It's just a small fever."

"Yeah, but oh well!" I look down to his hands wrapped gently around the empty bowl. "I want to take care of you. No matter how small it may be."

He laughs gently.

"Don't need to feel sad or anything. Thank you, Sor." He smiles a smile that could literally make a blind man see - in my perspective - and I kiss his cheek.

"Anytime!" He winces, and I realize it's his injured cheek. "Mmph," I mumble under my breath. "Why'd father have to do that to you? I bet that's why you're sick."

He laughs. "Maybe he was trying to protect you from me?" We both look at each other.

"Naah." Grinning at our unision, I sigh, leaning the side of my head on the base of his neck, his shoulder pressed up against my neck. I guess experience with bad fathers made us good at that.

"Hey, Sor?" He asks, left hand on my hair, smoothing it down gently.

"What is it?" I ask.

"I have a question... if there was one thing you would do, and one thing you would change in the world, what would it be?" He asks. I raise an eyebrow.

"Hmm... random questions, but okay." I look to his neck a moment. "Other than you," I start with a grin, making him jolt, blush and make a sound of protest all at once. "I'd make sure we'd be left alone, and that no one would ever try to get us to come apart. As for the other, it's easy, yet hard. I would want to make it so that your past wasn't so bad, but then again, it's made you who you are, and we wouldn't have met." I hum a moment. "So I wouldn't really change anything."

"Well put." He says with a smile.

"And you?"

"Hah, that's easy." He starts. "To humor you, other than you, I think I would stop your father from ever coming near you again. And I wouldn't change anything, really."

"Can I ask why you asked that?"

He shrugs, forgetting a moment my neck was leaned against it.

"Sorry." He apologizes. "I don't know. I was curious about your answer."

"It's fine." I yawn.

"Tired?" He asks. I nod, rubbing my eyes. He lies down on his side, pulling me near him so that my forehead rests on his collarbone. I wrap my arms loosely around his waist. "Sleep tight."

I reach up and give him a kiss.

"Sora. You'll get sick!" He protests as I pull back. I smile at him.

"I know, Rox." I say, hugging myself closer to him. I can hear the smile in his words as he speaks.

"Idiot." He leans his head on the top of mine.

"Sleep well." I say tiredly, letting sleep take me into its clutches.

* * *

Awwehs, a filler chapter-ish. No new news on BOB and his pursuit to take over the world, sadly. *Sigh* The authorities are making it _really_ hard. XD

Stay tuned for the next chapter, which will come whenever I conceive an idea for it. Oh, and I'll start working on _Ash Like Snow_, which will be the name of the story Scarletnight13 has requested. I will be making that one longer, so updates (whenever I start uploading it) will be much slower.


	14. By Your Side part one

Woop! Sick day! Sittin in bed with meh kitteh cat XD I'm sure he won't notice if I push him off when he takes all the room...

*Ahem* Anyways!

Reviews time!

To Tera Loveless Uchiha: Nuuu! I made you put off your sleep? Not good, bad! O-O But I am really glad you re-read the story and that you enjoy it this much. I wonder how many reads it has... Fanfiction should make a counter for those XD And yeah, I enjoyed making him act like a little child. And the authorities cannot stop WORLD DO-MI-NA-TION! *Cue evil laugh* XD

To PublicPandorum: It's nice to see a new reviewer! I was a little surprised when you said you stopped everything you were doing... I have a lot of trouble believing my stories (Fanfiction or otherwise) are good. Blame my school for that XD Truth be told, I wanted to end it a long time ago, but I got addicted to its idea. Roxas was supposed to have originally become Sora's butler, but I'm glad I trashed that. And shhh! No guessing what's inside my mind! The ebilness is for my mind only! XD And don't worry about that, writing is a passion to me, so there's no fear of me quitting that anytime soon =3

To Moe10: Thank you, and I hope this is soon enough for ya!

Shock me with some live wires if you want a one-shot/story on a certain subject and I'll do my best to find the time. (Damn my spring break will be loaded with XD) Or tell me if you wanna see something show up in this story. Thanks for dropping by and thank you for all the reviews thus far that have kept me going!

On to the story!

* * *

**Paper Moon**

**Chapter Fourteen (hey, that's my age! =3 Woop!)**

**Part One**

**By Your Side**

_Third Person_ (Wow this view hasn't shown up in a while. Wonder what's gonna happen - *snort* like if I don't know XD)

He paces the small room, the reflective glass of the window reflecting him as he does so, the light right above the table buzzing with electricity, a fly here and there dumbly flying into it once in a while, resulting in a piling of dead corpses on the table. With a grunt the man slams his hand on the desk.

"Damn! Sarah! Are they cooperating yet?" He asks sharply at the woman standing right outside the interrogation room, holding a clipboard. She pushes her glasses further onto her nose, looking nervous.

"Umm... n-no, sir. They refuse to come to the interrogation room. They say they won't cooperate until we find the boy."

"Well find him!" He shouts. "Get a court order dictating that all residents in a house must line up to be counted while officers search every square inch of the house! And start with the biggest one you can find!"

"B-but sir, that's the Royal-"

"I don't care if it's the goddamn Queen! Do it!"

"Y-yes, sir! Right away!" She seems more than eager to get away from him.

* * *

_Roxas_

He laughs as I trip with my foot on the edge of the staircase, kneeling beside me, trying to help me up without laughing. I stick out my tongue at him, which makes him laugh to himself with his cerulean eyes closed in a smile, pulling me to my feet along with him. I smile at him as we continue on down the hall, smiling to each other. He opens the door into the Library, letting me walk in before he does and closes the door behind him.

"I wanna see just how much I can push your skills." He says with a grin, passing me a leather case. I raise my eyebrows in mild surprise. "Go on, open it. It won't bite."

I lean it against the piano while he opens the top of the keys, looking through music sheets. I unclasp the shined golden clasps, lifting the top open and raising my eyebrows further, my mouth hanging open as I take out the wooden instrument.

The violin looks a lot like the other one, but the metal is new at the knobs holding the strings, and the wood is stained a deep red, the edges black, with a name in elegant cursive written on the back. I smile as I see my name.

"I had May go pick it up yesterday." He says with a smile as he places a neat stack of papers on the piano. "The other one was really old and had some bad history, so I decided that it would be best for you to have a new one."

"Thanks." I say gently, taking out the rod and closing the case. "But I don't really deserve this."

"I say you do, so you do." He shoots me a look, and I can tell I don't have much of a choice. Smiling I kiss him a moment.

"Thank you." He smiles this time at my response, pointing to the music sheet. "Okay, look at this one and tell me when you think you have the beat down."

I glance at it and its complex notes, some stretching out to six at a time, some to eight. It takes me a full two minutes, but I nod right afterwards, leaning my chin on the chinrest of the violin. It smells like brand new wood, and a faint trace of Sora's personal smell.

"You start." He says, hands placed on the keys. Nodding I use the music sheet as a reference before I begin the low pitch note, taking with it a high note. He nods approvingly, fingers flying gracefully over the keys. I watch his fingers a moment, closing my eyes soon after and just _feeling_ the music, the notes, both complex and simple weaving into my mind and telling me what to do without my consent. My fingers glide gently over the shaft of the violin, pressing down on some strings as I smile. I can hear his laugh, and I'll bet he stole a glance. I open my eyes and meet his gaze, holding it as we continue to play.

He starts playing more high pitched keys, and I follow suit by mixing both high and low sounds to make his notes sound smoother. Then he slows down, fingers taking their time over the keys as he looks back to the instrument, smiling to himself, lips mouthing words. Lyrics, probably. The notes pick up their pace again.

_To know, to feel, to play me once again.  
Do you denote...  
Do you not know, I see you play the game.  
Denote..._

I smile as I catch the words he'd been speaking on his lips, the music slowing down and stopping a bit after altogether. (A.N.: This is an exerpt from an awesome song I've used dozens of times in my story. It's called _Orchard Of Mines _by _Globus._ I suggest it.) The last note hovers in the air as I remove the rod from the strings, taking a breath.

"That was a very nice song." I tell him, sitting down beside him on the piano bench as he makes room.

"It's a favorite of mine." He says with a small smile. "And one of the hardest ones I know how to play here. But there is one more I know that is more complex for one reason only."

"And that is...?"

"A song I made up." He looks through the stack of papers on the piano a moment, taking out a single sheet with at least a hundred notes. It's not long, but the notes in itself look quite hard to play. "Care to try it?"

"Bring it." I say with a grin. Laughing once, he removes the one I read labeled _Orchard Of Mines - Globus_ and puts one that read _Roxas' Theme._ I raise an eyebrow.

"Have you got the beat down?" He asks me, fingers already poised knowingly over the keys. I nod, standing and resting my chin on the chinrest, waiting with the rod poised over the strings.

He starts on ain intricate layer of notes that wind together perfectly, and I follow suit, letting the notes be practically soundless, just a background noise. He nods approvingly, smiling as he weaves it through a very delicate part, nodding to me to raise the volume a little. I do so, although a bit reluctantly, since I want to listen to the weaving of the notes of the piano; they're intoxicating. It's basically just low with a few high notes, repeating itself a little and then falling into low notes for a little bit, before rising back into the regular tempo. It takes a full minute and a half to finish the song, and by then the volume of my own notes are back as background noises, but I don't mind. He lets the notes hang in the air as he ends it, turning to look at me.

"Did you like it?" He asks. I smile, putting the violin down gently on the free space of the piano bench and wrapping my arms around him. He returns my embrace.

"No." I say, momentarily pausing. "I adored it." I hear him laugh to himself as I pull back and kiss him gently, letting it linger. We don't even realize we're not alone anymore until someone clears their throat.

We both separate in shock, looking to the visitor. Sora frowns and stands up as soon as he see's the man's badge, which puts him subtly in front of me.

"Can I help you?" He asks, voice straining to remain polite.

The officer shows him papers, and his faces pales as he reads it. I look over his shoulder at it.

"Did no one come to tell you to gather at the front?" He asks. Sora shakes his head, handing it back.

"No, but the only one here besides myself and my adopted brother is the Head Butler, Kuron." (A.N.: Three cheers for random naming!)

"Where is everyone else?" He asks as he motions for us to follow him. I put the violin back in its case rapidly, being careful just the same, and we walk out with him following us behind him.

"My mother is out with the maid, May, and our chef, Karyn, has her weekly vacation today." He says as I remain silent. "What is the purpose of this, may I ask?"

"We are looking for a boy. He's been missing for a while and we need him to incarcerate him. What is your adoptive brother's name?" He asks, while I can feel the color leave my cheeks.

_So they're finally serious about this._ Sora remains silent as he looks to his feet, probably in his own jumbled thoughts. I look sideways at him, and I realize it's because he's trying to not show the tears streaming down his face. My fists clench, and I stop walking, turning to the man.

"Look," I say stiffly to the man, Sora lifting his head up as the two of them stop walking, his tear-stained face making my heart ache. "If I cooperate with you, you must promise to leave these people alone. And allow me to remain here, whether not my parents walk off scott-free."

He looks at me, getting a good look at my face for the first time.

"Very well. Follow me, Mr. Strife."

"One more thing." He pauses, halfway in the motion of turning around. "Sora's coming with me."

Sighing, the officer nods, gesturing for us to follow him, a little impatiently. Sora gives me a pleading look, but I shake my head, and I grab his hand to find comfort in someone's familiar touch, and also to stop my own hands from showing that they're shaking. We follow the man almost at his pace, Sora watching his feet, face still streaming with tears. Absentmindedly as we walk, I make him look at me so I can wipe them from his eyes with my left hand. I give him a smile, but I can tell it does little to reassure him. He squeezes my hand as we get to the door, and I return the gesture as we step out through it. A thin line of reporters and officers wait, and I can see the head butler some ways away on the grass. I keep my eyes downcast as we follow the man.

"Alright kid." Another officer gestures to Sora. "We don't need you tagging along."

He jerks his head up, mouth in a frown as his lips are in a tight line. He turns to look at the man.

"No." He says, standing protectively in front of me. "Either you're letting me come with him, or you're not getting him at all."

He sighs in exasperation.

"Who do you think you are, kid?" He hisses. Sora stands up a little straighter.

"I am Ansem Hikari's son, heir to the throne. Now, are you going to listen, or..."

"Fine, fine, fine. Get in the cruiser." He waves his hands and walks hurriedly away. Anothe rofficer holds the door open for both of us to step in. I let Sora step in first, and he pulls me in after him. The door closes behind us, locking us from the outside world.

"You're going to see your parents soon, kid. Isn't that nice?" The officer sitting at the wheel asks, turning his head. I feel the color leave my cheeks for the second time that day.

"Just drive." Sora says, clipping the words as he looks at me. With a sigh he drives along the road while I look at my hands, one of them still holding Sora's. He places his other hand over both of mine. "Don't worry about it, Roxas. They can't hurt you."

I let go of his hand to put my hands to my hair, gripping it as I squeeze my eyes shut.

"I don't want to see them." I say gently, so low the officer doesn't hear me. Sora pulls me to him, forehead on his collarbone as he comforts me with his presence. I put my hands onto his shoulders, trying to calm my erratic heart.

"I promise you they won't." He says into my ear. "I promise."

* * *

And he's always there. Holding me, helping me stay calm and soothing me with gentle words and kisses whenever he feels I need one. I take great comfort in him just being _there_. I keep imagining myself being forced to leave, to have Sora be forced to let me leave. I count him all of it while we wait for God knows how many hours on that bench. Few people pass by, but that's alright. He's always there to tell me that it'll be fine, and he never leaves my side.

Finally, with Sora having one arm around my shoulders and another holding my hand, a woman steps up, glasses on her face, a clipboard in her hands as she steps up, heels hitting the floor loudly.

"Hello, Roxas. I am Vanessa, Attourney At Law. I am the lawer appointed to you for this trial."

I look up at her, and Sora can see what I want to say in my eyes, for he says it for me.

"He won't be needing one, thank you." He says, looking at her evenly. "Because we'll be using the truth that we have on our side, not lies."

She smiles approvingly. Nodding, she jots something down.

"Will you be making a testamony?" She asks me. I look back down to my hands, one of them clenching into a fist - the one that's not holding Sora's.

"I will." Sora says, surprising me. "I saw all his injuries, and I don't want him to have to talk about it. He's having enough trouble forgetting it."

"I will, too." I say softly. Sora looks at me. "I have to."

"You sure?" He asks. I look at him, lifting my head up to do so.

"Yes."

"Well, then. Court wil be in session soon, so I'll be escorting you two into the Court room." Nodding Sora helps me stand up, and the closer we get to the room, the harder I clutch his hand like a lifeline. He doesn't complain, though I know I'm hurting him. And right before I enter the doorway, I look sideways at Sora, the attourney pausing as we both do.

"I'm not going to give them the satisfaction of seeing me broken." I say, which makes Sora smile. He lets go of my hand as I nod, flexing the fingers to re-animate them, and giving my shoulder a squeeze.

"That's more like it." He says with a smile wider than before. "Let's prove to them that they weren't able to break you, and that you're a greater person." I can see the attourney smile in aproval.

"Promise?" Grinning now, he holds up his pinkie, and I wrap mine around his.

"Promise." And we follow the woman into the room. I look to my left the closer we get to the front of the room, passing row upon row of seated people, some just here because they were appalled at my story, some people that I recognize as teens from my old school. Seeing them, some of them look at me, with pity in their eyes. I just skirt my eyes past them, ignoring the pity, and my eyes land on two heads near the front, seated at the front of the line of witnesses and reporters and journalists.

As if they can feel my stare, they turn their heads, and our eyes meet. My father's eyes are as cold as I remember, and only the amount of witnesses in the romm stop him from coming to beat me. My mother looks just as furious, but also appalled. I stare evenly right back at them. They let Sora sit down beside me at the table to the right, which makes me smile a little.

"All rise for the Honourable Judge Mathis." (A.N.:Oh I don't know, another random name. Woop.) Everyone stands, save my mother and father - typical - and she tells us to be seated.

"Court is now in session." She says with a voice that just about screams _authority._ I look evenly at the woman, and I can see Sora holding a small slip of paper in his hands he's fished from his pockets.

* * *

**IMPORTANT!: I need to know if some people want me to continue the story passed this setting, alright. I'm running out of idea's, but I have some in reserve and I can make it longer, but I will ONLY if people tell me to. (But I might still do it just for kicks) Alrighty? Good.**

Mouhahahaha, BOB has managed to control the sattelite. It is only a matter of time...

Stay tuned! NExt chapter being made AS WE SPEAK (sorta)


	15. The Tiger and the Cage  part two

**Paper Moon**

**Chapter Fifteen**

**(Continued from chap. 14 part 1)**

**The Tiger and the Cage**

_Sora_

"What is the accused being charged of?" Judge Mathis asks as she leans forward, her hawk-like eyes looking over both Roxas and I, and landing on his parents. Neither of them flinch away, challenging her stare.

"My clients are being charged for child abuse, harassment, and violence against a minor." The man in the suit says, standing up.

"And why does the child not have an attourney?" She asks, clipping her words. (A.N.: I forgot the term for the one accusing the person. Sowwi) Roxas looks at her, eyes unwavering.

"Because when you use the truth, you shouldn't need one. And I have my adopted brother, who is more than enough for the job, your honor." He says evenly. Her eyes seem taken aback by the stoic facade he's putting on, but I'm proud of the fact that he's managing to show everyone else he isn't scared.

"Very well. Then we shall start with your testemony, Roxas, was it?" She asks. His eyes waver a moment, but he nods and stands. (A.N.: Look, I've never been to court, so I dunno how the procedure goes. I'm just wingin' it. Sorry once again. Serious moments are not my forte.)

He goes to sit at the little cubby thing beside where the Judge sits, and his parents' attourney stands.

"Mr. Strife," He starts in a voice that makes me grit my teeth, as if he knows Roxas can't win. "Can you explain to us what went on at your home?" He asks, stopping in front of Roxas. Camera flashes are coming from the back, the journalists and reporters doing their jobs. He looks down to his hands.

"It was the same thing every day." He starts in a low voice. I long to hold him and take him away from everything he's experiencing, but I stay where I am, gritting my teeth and hands clenched into fists on my lap. "I avoided my parents as best I could. Sometimes my father would come find me in my room, drag me out, and beat me using either his own hands and feet, or sometimes it was a book, the side of the counter, a bottle, a lighter to my hair. I could never make any sounds without having it be worse for me. And sometimes I'd walk by on my way to or from school, and he, already drunk at seven in the morning, would push me onto a wall and hit me until he either passed out or saw enough blood come out of my mouth. My mother, she was often out of the house, and would come home smelling like she'd taken everything offered to her, looking like she'd slipped _herself_ a roofie."

"And what have you to back this up? A buise, a scar...?" He asks. He looks up a moment.

"All of my wounds are gone. Sora would treat them." He says, and his eyes are just daring people to think he's lying, for they show nothing but pure honesty, albeit he is very unguarded. "I only have two scars now."

"Do you own any piece of evidence to support this?" He asks. I stand up. My cue.

"Actually, I do." I say with a grim smile, fishing a CD case from my shirt pocket. I wave it in my hands. "Video recording of when my maid treated his wounds." (A.N.: Sneaky sneaky Sora. Security footage XD o.o I just got the highest sense of deja vu... have I ever written something with a surprise tape? o.o Oh, well)Grumbling the man comes and takes it from my hand reverently, and I sit back down with a knowing smile. Roxas is dismissed back to his chair, and he smiles at me. _We were always prepared._ I mouth to him. He nods.

A tv is rolled into the room, the cd put into a DVD player. Gasps are heard around the room as people see the sight of the blonde boy that was the Roxas before I knew him, all battered and bruised as he removes his shirt and sits down warily on the chair. I turn my eyes away from the video, unable to see Roxas in such a state. He notices me looking away, and I can see he can't look at it, either.

"I've seen enough." The judge says briskly, and the tv is rolled away. I can see a small, well-worn book in front of her, open to a certain page. _Roxas' book._ "Jury, you may leave to discuss the verdict."

The people lined up at the front on two rows of chairs file out of a door. People start to talk behind us, which I guess may be the norm. Roxas laughs once dryly under his breath.

"Even when I don't have it on me, that book will always follow me around." He says. I shake my head, and he looks at me.

"It won't if you don't let it." I tell him. He nods, and we fall into silence, into our own thoughts. Angry voices meet my ears.

"This is bullshit!" I hear a man shout, and Roxas sighs in exasperation as I look to my left, where his parents are seated. His father is on his feet, and much as they try, the guards can't stop him before he knocks them down. He stalks his way towards Roxas and I, fear making my heart beat once. I stand up and quickly put myself in between the two, making Roxas look up in surprise, a protest coming through his lips. Much as the judge tries to gain order, she can't get him to calm down. "Get out of my way, kid." He growls.

"Fuck you." I spit back, which is probably the first swear word I've ever said in my life. His eyes narrow, and Roxas' protest increase in volume right as he clamps a hand over my throat, squeezing the air right out. Screams and cries come from all around, but the lack of oxygen already has my head spinning as I struggle against his hand.

"What did you say?" He hisses as I see cops try to burst through the crowd.

"I said-" I gasp, my air very limited. "Fuck you."

"Let him go you bastard!" Roxas cry pierces through the confusion as he grabs his father's wrist and jerks it back violently, and I hear a snap. His fingers let go of my throat and I fall to my knees, gasping with my hand to my throat. Roxas doesn't bother with his father, he kneels beside me and removes my hand from my throat, looking for any marks, his eyes that were once full of vulnerability now only full of worry. He sighs in relief, fingers gently massaging where it hurts the most. "God I was so scared." He says lowly, the commotion letting his words reach no one but me.

"I couldn't let him come near you, I-"

"Do me a favor?" He cuts me off.

"Anything. You know that."

"Promise me you'll never do that again. And there's no need to apologize. Remember?" He points to his chest with his thumb, making me smile. I put my own thumb to my chest.

"I'll try, but you know very well I can't swallow the idea of anyone hurting you on my watch - or at all, really." The commotion starts to die, so he helps me up by holding my hands. Still a little light-headed, he helps me sit down and sits down beside me, a hand on my shoulder.

"Thank you."

"There's no need." I say, just as the jury comes back in. Roxas' father is now handcuffed to the railing behind him, splitting the witness from the rest of the court.

"Has the jury reached a conclusion?" The judge asks, closing Roxas' book. A woman in the jury nods, standing and holding a piece of paper.

"Yes, your honor. We find the defendants guilty of the crimes they are accused of." She says, sitting back down. Judge Mathis looks to Roxas' parents.

"Very well. I sentence you both to a lifetime in prison. And as I've been told before the session, I grant Roxas the wishes he'd desired."

I swear my heart litterally floated up and out of my skull. Roxas looks up at the judge in surprise with a smile as she slams her mallet down.

"Court dismissed."

And then I know only a blurr of bodies and confusion as people all around, going towards the exits, to his parents, and to us as Roxas wraps his arms around me and holds me tightly against his chest, laughing in my ear. I return the embrace with much enthusiasm, not at all caring towards the crowd gathering, some people looking at us oddly, some people going 'aww' a little. An old book is placed on the table, but neither of us can care.

* * *

He stands now in front of the fireplace, holding that old book. He'd offered to let me see it, but I told him no. I'd let him tell me himself when he was ready to do so. As the fire burns in the fireplace in my room, I sitting on the ground beside him, he gently throws the book into the fire, watching the embers fly up.

"I won't let it follow me." He says with a smile as he sits down beside me. I immediately wrap my arms around him, and we lie onto the ground, he resting on top of me, head resting sideways on my chest.

"I'm proud of you." I tell him with a smile. He sighs, relaxing into my arms. "For being able to let it go."

"I can only do that because of someone." He tells me.

"Who?" I ask, smiling as I look at the top of his head, one of my hands playing in his hair idly.

"The one person who means more to me than anything else out there." He says, nuzzling his cheek on me.

"I gotta find this person." I say, trying to keep the laugh out of my voice. "He's proving to be competition."

He sighs as I laugh to myself.

"I'll prove to you someday that it's what I feel." He says, propping himself onto his elbows and looking at me.

"Well, you have forever to do that." I tell him with a smile, now both of my hands playing in his hair. "An angel and a demon."

"Forever." He smiles, leaning in until our lips meet in what is, in my opinion, the gentlest and sweetest kiss we've had thus far, his hands on either side of my head to hold himself up, his happiness leaking out of him like water from a cloud.

"I'll prove it to you too." I tell him as he pulls back an inch. "But only when I feel the time is right."

He smiles.

"I'll be waiting for that day." He leans back in and we meet again, and I can feel the tears I'd kept inside out of pure pride in the court room flowing down my face. I feel a drop of water fall onto my cheek, and when I open my eyes, I see that he's crying, too. I wrap my arms around his head this time, both my hands resting on the top of his head.

And now, all that remains is my own father. But I am willing to put that aside for now. If it means being happy with Roxas, than I am more than pleased to do so.

* * *

Well, as I was writing this chapter I got to thinking that I didn't want to stop here. I want to add _more_. So I will. THE SHOW WILL GO ON! Plus I gots me a new idea =3 I won't post a sequel, I'll put the chapters in here. I'll see if I can get another one posted up tonight.

BOB is now trying to figure out how to take over Cellular phones. Please stand by.


	16. The Days Spent Alive

**Holy cow!_ o.o_** I am SO glad I decided to see if there are any new reviews before posting this up =3. I enjoyed them very much =)

Reviews time!

To PublicPandorum: I always thought the plot would be lost o.o But I'm glad to hear that isn't the case! I've never done a fanfiction with so many chapters before! I'm really happy, actually! And I kinda hated the fact that I made them so OOC, but I'm glad to hear it's not a bad OCC-nes. And don't need to thank me for writing XD The joy of writing in itself is good enough for me.

To the Poet's Raven: Welcome back! =D Ah, don't forget Sora's father... we're not done with him yet, I am afraid. And there's a new one coming in that's ten times worse~ And don't worry about my health, it's normal for my heart to be an... ass, for lack of a better word thereof. =3 I will still do my very best to update! =3 Though that may depend this weekend, really. But I'll be getting my computer back soon, right as rain! So more time for chappies! BOB has a female counterpart? o.o Damn XD Overall, I really enjoyed your review! =3

To Moe10: Thanks for the little tidbit about that! I _for sure_ won't be doing another Court scene ever again. Too... stiff. Hope this is fast enough for you!

To Tera Loveless Uchiha: Sleep is still sleep! And thank you, I'm glad to hear you say that you find it that good =3 And yes, they will ROT! Mouahahaha XD And thank you so much for saying that! It really made much of my day (made up for the pain I had today) and I will do my best to be the best author I can be. Hope you like Fantasy fiction a lot if you're gonna buy all my books XD Yay a faithful minion! *Writes it down* Other than me... that makes two. Mouhahahaha XD And this chapter is quite calm, so no worries here. You can concider it a long filler chapter.

Send me a nudge if you want a story/one-shot on a certain subject. I'll try to make it happen! Or tell me if you want a certain thing to show up in the story, and I'll do my best to fit it in.

**Enjoy Paper Moon!**

* * *

**Paper Moon**

**Chapter Sixteen**

**The Days Spent Alive**

A year later

_Sora_

The day before our birthday. The cold coming from the air-conditioned room refeshes us on the hot summer day, tommorrow meaning much for us. But right now we're just goofing off, he dripping wet as he's fallen into the water - courtesy of yours truly - while he's had some difficulty doing that to me. The water makes him look almost like he's glowing.

"I swear I'll get you!" He says as he chases me. I look over my shoulder at him, stopping with a small whimper as I see that I'd bumped into the diving board.

"Damn." I say shakily as I turn around and look at him. He's grinning as if he'd won the lottery, coming towards me, my only escape the water.

"Aw c'mon, it wasn't so bad." I say, hoping to win this little mock-fight we're having. He's holding one hand to the base of his neck, near his left shoulder, where'd I'd left him a little gift. He sticks out his tongue at me. "I like to think you seemed to rather enjoy it."

His face heats up at the memory, and he charges for my waist, arms coming around it and bringing me with him into the water. We go under with a flurry of bubbles, and as revenge while I'm left defenseless, he leaves me the same little gift at the base of my neck, both of us still underwater as a small flurry of bubbles leaves my lips in a silent moan. Grinning he lets go and we go up for air, my face completely red as I put my hand to where he'd just left his mark.

"Seems to me," He starts casually. "That you rather enjoy it." He says sweetly. The pool water is cold, perfect on a day like today. I stick out my tongue at him, leaping - or as much as that is possible while in the water - at him and wrapping my legs around him, arms around his neck. He looks at me with a smile, and I return his grin.

"Maybe." I purr, and, like he's told me once, he likes it when I do that. The obvious reaction: he smiles wider as I bend my head towards him, lips pausing just an inch from his. "There's a week left."

"Yeah." He smiles, every word making our lips brush together and sending little sparks of energy through me. It's already almost been a year, and I'm still not over the effect he has on me.

With his hands behind my head he presses his mouth on mine hard, already expecting me as I snake my tongue through his lips, earning a contented sigh from him as we battle it out, his back meeting the side of the pool. He grunts but otherwise ignores it. He smiles as we pull back for some much-needed air.

"I wanna know something." I start, not bothering to move from where I am. Over the year, even his scars have faded a little, and they practically don't show at all. "Is there anything you want for your birthday?"

"No." He smiles, running a finger over the mark he's given me, making me shiver.

"But I wanna get you something, and I'm not sure if what I got you will be good enough." I scratch the back of my head a moment. "It's our first birthday together, so I wanted to make sure it's special."

"I'm sure it'll be perfect." He says. "We'll both be eighteen now, remember." I laugh to myself, nuzzling my face into his neck.

"I know." I sigh for a moment. "And I'll officially no longer be a 'prince'."

"I know how you don't want to rule this godforsaken country... but don't let it get to you." He says gently, hands making circular motions on my back.

"I don't want to have to be wrenched away from my life and rule this place, and then be forced to come up with a _heir._" I make a face. "I don't want any of that."

"Then what do you want?" He asks, and I close my eyes.

"I want what I'm holding in my arms right now." I tell him. "You, and only you."

"You'll still have me." He says with a smile. My hands tighten at his back.

"I don't know. I might be forced to marry a woman and have her carry my child." He goes silent. "And that would mean..."

"That we wouldn't be able to be together anymore." He finishes softly.

"Yeah."

"Is there any way to change that?"

"Just watch me." I say, voice clipped. "I want to see them try; I'll give them a god damn King."

He looks at me in confusion but I shake my head.

"You'll see." I disentangle myself from him after a quick kiss. "Now come on; this is making me depressed."

"Sure thing, Sor." He smiles, following me as I lift myself out of the pool.

* * *

"Wake up!" I shout, sitting down onto his stomach like I did so long ago. He wakes up with a cry of surprise, breath knocked out of him. "It's already seven thirty in the morning, how much more time do you need?" I ask, exitement leaking over. He opens two groggy cerulean eyes and looks up at me.

"Hi to you too." He says with a smile, rubbing his eyes. It's fun seeing him still half asleep; I kiss him gently and quickly before I pull back, exitement bubbling over again.

"C'mon!" I pull him out of bed as he protests, dragging him onto the couch and sitting him down. "You can't open your eyes, either!"

"That's no fun." He grins sleepily as he closes his eyes.

"It is too. Now hold out your hands." I smile and run into the bathroom, picking up the thing on the ground. I make a motion for it to be quiet, and it does so. I bring it to Roxas, juggling the other one in my other arm as I give him the paler one. "You can look."

He gasps as the baby Golden Retriever licks his face, yipping and wagging his little tail. A smile spreads across his face as he stands and looks at him, and he notices I hold another one in my own hands, a German Shepherd. Both are only about two months old, trained well enough to be brought home as pets.

"You got _dogs_?" He asks, eyes bright and happy.

"You can name that one if you want." I say with a smile. "They came in a set, really. I'm calling this little girl Luna."

"I'll call mine Sombra, then." He smiles. I put mine down and she barks up at his, which, when Roxas puts him down, the pup barks at Luna and chases after her. He puts both his hands on my face, kissing me with a sort of ferocity he doesn't usually use. I smile and return it as he falls back first onto the edge of the matress. The two pups bark as they run around, but all I really register is Roxas as he places a hand at my neck, tilting it so he can have acess to it, which is _really_ rare. But I gladly take it, trying to stop the sounds I want to make as he gently leaves his mark at the base of my neck a few times. I have both my hands at his hips, fingers digging into them as I let out a moan that escapes my control. He laughs against my neck.

"I can't begin to thank you enough." He says gently, licking his lips which, in turn, lets his tongue run over my skin once. "I've always wanted a dog."

He leans in for another kiss, battling it out with me as I run my hands down the sides of his waist and up to halfway to his knees, he leaning into my touch. We both let out a sort of laugh at the same time while still battling each other fiercly, which is then interrupted when we feel two very obvious tongues lick our faces.

Laughing I pull back and roll off of him, picking the eager pup up into my arms.

"I think they're jealous." I say. He laughs and picks Sombra up into his arms, which then goes off to lick his face.

"I can understand why." He says with a smile. "You're amazingly... hmm... what's the word?"

"Tall?" I ask with a grin. He laughs once dryly, a spark in his eyes.

"Ha-ha." He sticks out his tongue at me. "No, something else. Oh, right!" He looks at me and leans in to whisper in my ear. "_I believe the words 'drop dead sexy' would suffice?_"

I turn my head to face him, face beet red as I push his arm a little.

"Roxas!" I protest. He shrugs.

"Want your present?" He asks. Curious, I forget my embarassment and nod. "Then close your eyes, and if you try to peak, then we'll see." He sings the last part. I close my eyes, smiling to myself as I pet Luna, she yapping away at Sombra.

"You can look now, silly." I open my eyes a little, and I see him holding a box decorated red with blue stripes. I raise an eyebrow, but he hands it to me.

I open the lid, having let the pup out of my arms so she could go play with Roxas' pup, looking inside.

There's a few charcoal pencils in a smaller tray inside, with a large stack of paper underneath. I smile as I look at it.

"I noticed you didn't have a set, so I thought you'd like that." I put the box down beside me, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"I love it." I smile. "Happy birthday, Rox."

"Happy birthday to you too, Sor." He says gently, wrapping his own arms around my waist. "Oh, and there's one more reason to be happy."

"Yeah." I smile, leaning against him a little with my forehead against his.

"It's the day we met." He laughs as one of the pups tugs on his pants leg, looking to Luna, who is wagging her tail innocently. The radio, which I had left playing in the background for the hell of it, played _By Your Side._ We both smile at the same time. _Our song._

"So, do you wanna do something specific today?" I ask, the side of my head leaning on his collarbone. He shrugs.

"Not really. I like to go with it as it goes."

"Ah, really?" I ask, humming the song to myself, smiling.

"Yeah." He falls silent a moment as we listen to the song. "When do you go back to school?" He asks silently.

"I'm going back for one more day on the thirty-first. And you do know it's a sort of breakfast thing, and that I can bring a friend, family, or lover, right?" I ask.

"Technically," he starts, grinning. "I'm not your lover."

I stick out my tongue at him.

"Yet. But that's beside the point." I say. "I want you to come with me."

"Of course I would." He smiles. "But why exactly must you go there?"

"Because it's for all the musicians, and we're playing a concert for the first years." I smile at him in return. "Maybe I could get you to play as well... after all, it is a concert consisting of various shows of one or more graduates, so I'm sure that having you perform with me would be no bother at all, considering I'm alone."

"It would be nice." He says after a while, hand smoothing my hair. I watch the pups run around after each other. "Us playing together like that. What're you playing?"

"Take a guess." I close my eyes, holding myself closer to him a little.

"I don't know. You enjoy a lot of songs."

"I'm playing our song." I say with a soft smile playing on my lips. "While I'm playing the piano, I'll be singing it as well."

"Now that," he starts with a smile in his voice. "I will have to hear."

"Well, then, come on! Let's go play it!" I disentangle myself from him and grab his hands, pulling him up and out the door. The pups follow us, going ahead of us down the hallway and barking, coming back the way they came when they go too far. Soon enough we get to the Library, and I let go of his hands so he can close the door and grab his violin I gave him while I search for the music sheet.

"Ready?" I ask after placing the music sheet. I let my fingers hover over the keys, and he nods, his own fingers expertly splayed on the instrument, holding it gracefully, even if he may not know he's doing it. I press the keys and he picks up almost at the same time I do, the notes he plays gentle and graceful, weaving with the notes I play. I watch him as he plays the instrument with his eyes closed, fingers automatically gliding to a new string to hold it before he even passes the rod over the strings, like a perfect symphony. I look back to the keys and wrench my mind from him, and I let him hear it.

"Why are you striving these days?" I start, the lyrics falling off my lips naturally. He picks it up with me, and we continue along the song, looking at each other when we get to the before last stanza. With a smile we end the song, and the pups start barking again, Sombra jumping onto my lap. I laugh and pet him. Roxas sits down beside me, having put his violin back in its case and picked up Luna.

"I think we'll have a lot on our hands with these two always wanting attention." He says with a chuckle.

"Maybe it's because they want to go outside and play?" I ask. He hums to himself a moment.

"Probably. But how should I know?" He counters.

"You wanna go outside?" I ask Sombra. He barks at me, his tail wagging. I grin and hold him up to the height of my head, turning him so he faces Roxas. "That answer your question."

"Very funny." He says, standing up and putting Luna onto the ground.

"I aim to please." I say, using a funny accent I've started to use a while ago. He laughs, and I put Sombra onto the ground, following the eager pups out the door, Roxas coming close behind me. He falls into step with me, and we watch them run around as we follow them, smiling.

"I think I'll be remembering this birthday." He says, putting an arm around my shoulders. I smile at him.

"I'll make sure you do." I smile in return.

"I never thought much of it back before." He says gently, eyes no longer looking sad whenever he brings it up. He's like that. He'll spring up a moment from his past when he wants, but he stays quiet about it the rest of the time. Not that I ask him. Like I'd told him almost one year ago, I said I'd let him tell me when he wanted to. "It's not like I had much of a choice, anyways."

"But now you do." I say with a smile, arm around his waist. He nods, smiling.

"Now I do." The pups turn around and bark at us, as if to say _hurry up!_ I laugh gently, and we let go of one another to break off into a run after them, which seems to make them happy. "You know what? I think it'll be very fun with these two around." He shoots over his shoulder as he pushes one of the side doors open t let them out into the yard. Yipping happily, they charge out and chase their stubby little tails, both of us following behind them.

"Immagine when they'll be older." I add. "What I like about dogs is that they are always so affectionate." I kneel on the grass and scratch Luna's face gently on the sides of her muzzle.

"Yeah." He sighs, kneeling beside me as we watch them run around us. "Thanks, Sor." He laughs as one of the pups marks a little tree nearby with his scent.

"Thank you, too, Roxie." He sticks out his tongue at me; he preffers Rox over Roxie, says it makes him sound like if he's a girl. I hum to myself a moment, have a little lightbulb moment, and I scratch something into the dirt. "Hey, Rox? You know, not to be mean or anything, but if you pronounce it in a special way, your name sounds a lot like this." He looks at what I wrote.

And laughs.

"Oh, I knew that already." He says.

"I wonder if it's true." I muse. He pushes me on my arm a little, catching me off-guard and making me fall to my side on the ground. I laugh as I hit it. "What, at least I'm honest!"

"Nothing." He says with a smile, laughing. "You're just being you."

"Well, it _would_ be hard to act like May, or like Karyn, for example." He sticks out his tongue at me.

"Silly."

* * *

How wash thish fow eh chappeh? (Who understood that?XD)

Meh, I'm starting Season two, if you will, on a low note. But it will get better. I has plans for this. Ebil, ebil plans.

BOB is on tv now, having taken over CBC =3

See you all soon =3


	17. Heir

Still feeling like crap, ugh ._. Anyways, off with that! Reviews time!

To Tera Loveless Uchiha: Another fantasy addict, woo! =3 Let's hope your teacher doesn't kill you! D= Good luck with him/her XD

To Scarletnight13: I quite enjoyed his outburst too XD Which makes it all the more funny when he says it's his first time swearing XD

To xXCatCatGirlXx: Thanks for the review! .w. And I called the puppy Sombra because the fur for that pup is darker, and since the other one is called Luna, as in Moon, I found it fit =3. And I can't really answer that, because I have a big fat, annoying writer's block on it! D=( I hate it, because it was getting really good! I promise, however, that I will update it as soon as I possibly can push the writer's block off (which is to say when the Sora&Roxas from that story stop going on strike) I'm sorry it's taking forever!

Gimme a nudge if you want a story/one-shot about a certain subject, and I'll see if I can make it happen. Or, if you want something to appear in this story, let me know!

Oh, by the way, next chapter will be much better, I promise! I have a good idea, wait and see.

Enjoy Paper Moon.

**

* * *

**

**Paper Moon**

**Chapter Seventeen**

**Heir**

_Roxas_

It was pretty quiet the next morning. Sora was nowhere to be seen, so I walked down the hallways, listening for any sign of life as I stiffle a yawn, still fresh out of bed. May nods to me with a smile as she passes by, and I wave in return.

"Have you seen Sora?" I ask her. She looks up from dusting a vase.

"He's in the Living Room. I'm sure he's done with what he had to do, so you can go right ahead to see him." I nod sleepily, rubbing my eyes and shaking my head, clearing it of sleep. I continue down the way I was headed, two distinct voices getting louder as I go.

"_...explain why you're refusing this._" An elderly voice says matter-of-factly. I slow down the colser I get to the living room.

"_Because I can't, grandfather!_" I hear Sora shout back, and from the tone of his voice, he's upset. _"I can't do it!_"

"_Surely you knew this was coming._" He continues, sounding really high-class. "_You've known this for more than half your life now. You didn't seem to have a problem about it before._"

"_Because back then I could! But I still didn't want to, and I still don't!_" His voice wavers now. "_Grandfather, I... I can't. Even if I do, I will never be able to; I could never come with a heir._"

"_And why not? I believe that you will marry one day, right?_" Sora makes a sound at the back of his throat as my hand rests on the handle, not really enjoying the concept of eavesdropping but unable to resist. "_Unless you're refusing because you've committed the Devil's sin?_"

_Devil's sin? Is that what the old men call 'love' these days? Gimme a break._ I can't stop the thought.

"_Grandfather! At least have the decency to call it by the real term!_"

"_You didn't deny it. So I am guessing that it's true._"

"_What woud that change in your life, eh?_" His voice cracks at many places. "_Just ask Aerith to take your place! I don't want to do it!_" Footsteps quickly approach the door, so I step back as Sora pushes the door open, eyes streaming tears. He notices me, and out of impulse, he buries his tear-stained face into the base of my neck. Slower, heavier footsteps follow shortly thereafter before I can try to bring Sora somewhere he can be alright, and a man who looks very well near a hundred steps out of the room, pausing as he see's Sora, his old, ancient eyes landing on me. Sora stiffens.

"Don't hurt him, grandfather." Sora says, voice hard as he turns around and stands protectively in front of me. "No matter what, you are not allowed to touch him."

"So this is the boy I heard your father talk about." I stiffen at the mention of Sora's father, and Sora starts making us back up such small steps that his grandafther takes no notice. "What is your name, boy?"

"Don't answer him." Sora tells me, hands behind him holding my arms underneath the elbows. "Just... leave us alone, grandfather."

"If you do not accept," he starts casually, looking to his old and wrinkled hands. "You will loose this land and every fortune you own."

"I don't care!" He shoots back. "Nothing is worth giving him up. Have Aerith take your place; I won't do it, no matter how many times you beg."

"Sora..." I start silently. He shakes his head.

"Don't say it; I won't do it. I _can't._" His shoulders start to shake. Gritting my teeth I look to his grandfather.

"He gave you an answer." I say gently. "Please, just respect his desires. That's what a grandparent does for their grandchild."

"He is no ordinary grandchild." He says, clipping the words.

"And I respect that. But, sir... if he doesn't want to do it, then there should be no questions asked." He looks at me a moment, weighing my words.

"Very well. I will respect both of your desires, boy." He looks to Sora. "Forgive me, grandchild. I mean nothing I have said." He bows his head slightly, and he turns and walks off. We both watch him leave in silence.

"Now stop that." I say as he turns to me, wiping the tears off his cheeks with my thumbs. "Is it my fault?"

"Of course not!" He protests, looking to the base of my neck. "Don't ever think that."

"Alright then." I smile at him as he looks up. "Why don't we go get some breakfast to cheer you up?"

"Pancakes?" He asks hopefully, eyes shining. I laugh.

"As many as you want. Come on." I start down the hallway, and he shouts in joy as he jumps onto my back, arms around my neck and legs around my waist. I laugh again and hold onto his legs underneath his knees as I continue to walk. He giggles in my ear as I try to keep my balance, going down the staircase carefully. "Remember the first time you made me give you a piggy back ride down these steps?" I ask.

"Of course. You broke my ankle in the process, but it didn't hurt that bad." I make a sound of disapproval.

"I still feel bad about that." I admit as I make it down the steps in one piece. I turn the corner and go through the door into the dining room, continuing through until I get to the door to the kitchen. When I step in, I set him down onto the stool at the counter. Karyn turns to look at us as we walk in.

"It's nice to see you two again!" She says joyfully, in the process of drying the last dish. "What can I do for you two today?"

"Can we have some pancakes?" He asks as I sit down beside him. She laughs and nods.

"How many this time? Fifteen for you, Sora?"

"Twenty." He says, grinning from ear to ear. I laugh at that.

"Ten for me, please." (A.N.: Damn they've gots the big appetite XD I can barely hork down two) She nods, placing the pan she was drying onto the stove.

* * *

"You're just gonna lie there for an hour again, aren't you?" I ask him with a smile as he basks in the shade of a tree outside. He nods, yawning.

"I ate too much." He groans again. I sigh, shrugging my shoulders.

"Learn to resist the smell, then."

"But they shmell shoooo good!" He complains in a funny voice, making me crack a smile. I sigh and flop down onto my stomach beside him, my chin on my arms.

"I'll admit that much." I sigh, closing my eyes. A bird chirps silently in the tree above us, the suns rays hot even in the shade, but it's a nice kind of warmth. Just on the borderline of being too hot.

"Hey, Roxas?" He says silently after some time.

"Hm?" I ask, in the process of falling asleep.

"If... grandfather decides to take back my inheritance because I refused to take his place, what will we do?" I open my eyes at his question, but not out of surprise. I knew it had been gnawing at him.

"We'll figure something out." I say simply, lying my head on its side on my arms and I smile at him. He's looking at me from the corner of his eyes, his eyes confused and worried. "We're managing fine so far, don't you think; what with having taken care of my parents a year ago." He nods, looking to the blue sky that lies hidden behind the leaves of the tree.

"I know... but I'm scared of it happening. I only know this life, after all."

"Tell me, what do you want to do, then?" He raises an eyebrow. "As a profession, I mean."

"I want to be a musician." He says with a smile, eyes faraway, as if he can see something that is not there. "I want my music to make people happy."

"Well, you're talented enough for that." I say. "So there's nothing to worry about there."

"And... I want to do that with you." He says in a lower voice, looking to the tree now. "Everything, actually."

I smile against my arms, reaching to push a strand of hair in his eyes. He looks at me.

"No worry about that, either." I reassure him. "And you'd be surprised how easy it is to adapt to a different type of way of living, when you're given no warning."

"You sure about that?" He asks. I roll onto my side momentarily and put my thumb to my chest.

"Promise." He smiles as I rearrange myself. "We'll be just fine." He nods and curls up on his side, closing his eyes.

"Now we sleep." He says, yawning. I laugh and close my own eyes.

"Now we sleep." I agree.

* * *

Sorry for the short chapter everyone, again this is probably a filler, except for the newest addition to the characters; Sora's Grandfather, who we do not know the name of yet XD I'll give you a hint; in Kingdom Hearts, this guy is _very_ bossy, and he's from Organization XIII. =3

Anyways, stay tuned. Still feeling sick, and a red spot's appeared on me that looks a lot like what my sister had before she got sick =S Let us hope it is not what she had! O.o


	18. Flowers That Bloom When it Rains

Fixed the italic! =3 sorry for the long update, I was watching Amnesia: The Dark Descent playthroughs XD It's damn scary but the one who comments it while playing is FUNNY AS HELL! Check it out! His Youtube channel is PewDiePie XD

Reviews time! (There's a lot XD Oops.)

To the Poet's Raven: I'm so happy it hit 50 reviews! And yeah, I can't remember their names for my life, 'cept, you know, Lexaeus, Saix, Zexion, Larxene, Xemnas, Axel, Roxas and Marluxia XD And I also don't think Aerith will be appearing, but I'm not sure yet...

To Kirei Ryuusei: OMG another reviewer! Yay! To put it simply, twist after twist after twist =3 And I can't relly tell you where they go! That's a se~cr~et~ and giving it away would ruin the surprise XD

To Poseidon's-Princess: Maybe he will, maybe he won't. We shall see -DUN DUN DUN-

To PublicPandorum: Thanks! I'm glad you love the story thus far! And it'll be hard to feel better, but I'll do my best! Promise! ^w^

To il2swim57: Nuuuu... you're almost right! XD Then again, if you think about it and add two and two, it can become very obvious XD Nice guess, though. And mine ain't necessarily curable. Suffice to say I'm stuck with it XD

To Moe10: I know, right? I like to think I got his character down pretty well, but truth is, I don't. Glad you liked the chapter.

Throw me a stone if you want something to appear in this story, and I'll fit it in! Or, if you want a One-shot/story about a certain subject, let me know!

And by the gods I had such the amazing brainfart for a SoRoku fanfic. I have GOT to finish Fall Into Your Sunlight and Paper Moon before I can really start _Saving Me_, the brainfart I had, or _Ash Like Snow_, another SoRoku that Scarletnight13 requested XD

* * *

**Paper Moon**

**Chapter Eighteen**

**Flowers that Bloom when it Rains**

_Roxas_

"You do realize my arm is about to come out of its socket, right?" I ask him a little sarcastically as he pauses within the confines of the forest, half-dragging me with him. He turns around and seems to notice that for the first time.

"Sorry!" He lets my arm go, and I try to relieve it of the pain. "I'm just really exited!"

"What for?" I ask as he kneels in the bushes. He pushes some back and sticks his head in, obviously searching for something. I can see his shoulders move as he answers me, but his voice is muffled by the bushes.

He pulls his head back out and looks at me with eyes that shine brightly.

"...that I almost forgot about it again!" He finishes, smiling. I sigh and kneel beside him. "I'm glad I found them so quickly, too."

He reaches back in and gingerly returns with a golden flower in his fingers. He smiles, sitting cross-legged as he examines it.

"Every year there's always a new flower growing. Last year I forgot about them completely, mostly because we met." He flashes me the briefest of smiles. "Around this time of year we replace every single flower inside with flowers found in the forest. I used to come pick some, and I always keep one of the new ones for my own study. These flowers are rather strange, too."

"How so?" I ask, looking at the flower he holds as he offers it to me, the golden petals reflecting a gentle light.

"They only bloom when it rains, and it can be really hard to catch them in bloom, too. It rained last night, so it was easier than most years this time." He reaches back, his right shoulder jerking slightly as he seemingly struggles with something behind the bushes. "And last year, this one must have been the newer one." He holds up a sky blue lily to my face, leaves sticking out of his hair as he gingerly places a couple more in his lap.

I laugh, reaching towards him to remove one of the leaves.

"You got fluffage." I tell him, holding the leaf up for him to see. He grins.

"You wanna help me get the rest? There are a lot to get, mind you." I nod, and when we stand, he gives me the small packet of flowers. "Hold on to them, please. I'll do the picking, and you'll do the carrying."

"Fine by me." I shrug, following him through two trees. "How long until their petals close?"

"Well... given the temperature... we have a few hours - give or take three - to get as many as we can." He says, shooting me a smile over his shoulder as we step into a small clearing with rows of white, blue and orange-petaled flowers. He kneels beside them and begins gently pulling at them. "There's more than I remember."

"That's a good thing." I say as I sit down beside him. He piles up the stems ever so higher on me, putting one on the top of my head just for kicks.

* * *

_Sora_

In the morning we drop off at the Cul-De-Sac-ish road that leads to the immense building looming in front of us, the glass doors both inviting and looking like they'll swallow us up. Roxas lets out a low whistle, standing beside me like he said he'd be on the day of the Opening Ceremonies at my old school.

"This is your school?" He asks as we walk up the steps. He's carrying the violin's case with him in one hand, and he thanks the man who opens the door for us, letting us walk into the well-polished hallway, the white floor looking almost mirror-like and opening wide to a large fountain with angels trickling water into it, the water crystal clear.

"It used to be." I say with a smile and a little laugh. I motion for him to follow me down a red-carpeted floor, in a slightly narrower hallway. French doors appear here and there against the walls.

"Impressive." He says, nodding. I shrug and nod to one of the teachers I pass, who returns my nod, he doing the same to Roxas. Soon after I open one of the wooden double doors that leads into the auditorium, closing it behind us. He follows me as we walk down the slightly sloped path, where a stage is being set up, technicians looking at the lights. Someone see's us as we go up the steps, and he waves at us frantically.

"Whose this?" A blue-haired seventeen year old named Zexion asks, looking up from his book, clapping it shut and raising an eyebrow. Roxas tilts his head to the side.

"This is Roxas." I say, smiling. "He's gonna be playing with me in my two plays."

"Wait, two?" He turns his head to look at me, an eyebrow raised.

I just smile widely at him.

"Ah, so this is the guy I heard the girl in charge of the ceremony speaking about." He turns around momentarily to snap something at a light technician. Another teen, with longer blue hair than Zexion, runs up to stand in front of me, gasping slightly.

"Hey Sora! How've you been?" Saix asks. I smile.

"I've been doing really good."

"This the guy you wouldn't stop talking about?" He looks at Roxas, who looks more and more confused.

"Yep!" I nudge Roxas with my elbow. "You gonna say something?"

He seems to think it over a little.

"Nah." He dodges me when I try to smack his arm. "I'm kidding." He turns to look at the two blue-haired teens. "Nice to meet you."

Zexion turns to snap something at someone again, turning back to us a moment later.

"The first half is starting in five minutes." He says, gesturing to the crew cleaning up various tools and setting up the instruments, adjusting small defaults here and there. "Both of you, get ready. Sora's first act is the opening."

"What's the second, then?" He asks me as we walk to where the piano is. I sit down in the bench, swiveling in it.

"The closing act." I smile at him as he takes out his violin. "It'll be fun, I promise." He flashes me a smile as someone takes his case and puts it behind the curtain.

"I know." He smiles just as the voices on the other side of the closed curtain quieted down, leaving way to a girl speaking into a microphone.

"I'd like to welcome you all to Sinshare. We'll be giving you a performance of various talents as a welcome, and I hope you enjoy the show! For our opening act, please welcome Sora and Roxas Hikari!" Clapping ensued.

I see Roxas raise an eyebrow at the last name, but he shrugs as the curtain opens. I turn to the keys, fingers poised redily over them. Once the curtain was fully pulled back, Roxas and I began at the same time.

* * *

_Roxas_

I kept quiet during the break time, Sora sitting beside me as we enjoyed the lunch break. His friends, whom I've been told are called Zexion, Saix, and some girl named Olette sit with us at the circular table, and I watch my hands on the table, lost in my thoughts.

"Hey Sora?" The girl asks after a short pause in their conversation. He looks at her. "I'm honestly surprised to hear that you're still without a girlfriend. I would've thought that by now..." She then looks at me. "I'm sure your brother here isn't, though."

"No, I don't have one either." I tell her, which is the truth. Sora taps my shoulder, and I turn my head to look at him. An unspoken question hangs in the air between us, and I nod. He smiles in return. From the corner of my eyes, I can see the three of them watching us intently.

"Alright then..." She says slowly. "Then how about a boyfriend?"

We both turn our heads to look at her stimultaneously, a little surprised at her question. Zexion pretends to be engrossed in his lunch, and Saix seems to have sudenly found a small dust mote stuck to him that repulses him.

"Why do you want to know?" I ask, honestly surprised. Sora, on the other hand, laughs slightly.

"She's just that good, Rox." He laughs. "She's pretty good when it comes to how people interact."

He tilts his head to the side in confusion.

"It's obvious!" She says, looking right at me. "You two are an item, right?"

She's lost me. Item?

Sora laughs to himself again.

"She means to ask if we're together." I make a sound of comprehension, and Sora looks to her. "Took you a while."

"Well, he's so goddamn quiet." She huffs. "He barely says a word."

"Sorry." I say, scratching the back of my head.

"Alright then! To prove to me you're not lying, I want to see a kiss."

Sora echoes the sigh that escapes my lips. Shrugging, he says:

"She's not gonna let this go." He says, stretching his arms over his head. To get it done and over with, I give him a light peck on the lips, which makes him pout as I cross my arms and look at her.

"It doesn't convince me~" She sings. "Sora, show him how it's done!"

Not having to be told twice, he holds my chin with one of his hands, fingers gentle on my skin as he kisses me more fully, which seems to gain her satisfaction. I shut my eyes and melt into it moments before he pulls away from me, grinning. With an exclamation Saix points to something at Sora's throat.

"Look!" He laughs, making us look at him in confusion. "Someone left a mark~"

"Get your mind outta the gutter!" We both snap at him and Zexion, I instinctively pulling the collar of my shirt up to hide mine. They notice. "Oh like that's never been done to you." I retort just before they speak their thought. They snap their mouths shut. Sora laughs near my ear.

"Don't let his shy persona fool you. He's very perceptive."

Olette simply laughs it all away, bent in two on her seat.

~~(^m^)~~

The familiar melody goes through the room as the final act of the day starts, Sora's fingers playing gently on the keys, a drummer and a guitarist to my right, waiting for their cue. The drummer, soon after Sora and my notes rise, begins a gentle beat to the base, and the guitarist does so too, low-key notes that just weave through everything. Smiling Sora begins a song he wrote somewhat for this occasion. (A.N.: This song was thought up while I was trying to fall asleep, and I find it fits. It doesn't exist, though =( Too bad)

_"Why do you stay_  
_Because I told you to?_  
_Why do you try_  
_To erase all of my lies?_  
_Why do you cry_  
_That you want to take away my pain?_  
_Well please don't look back,_  
_Because we're running through._  
_So why do you stay_  
_Because it's me?"_

The beat goes up a notch as I smile, eyes closed and just listening to his voice as he sings those words, the audience silent. It's as if everyone is holding their breath.

_"The light I try to reach has left_  
_All alone now, in distress._  
_But shining you always whisper_  
_'Don't you cry; the sun can't die.'_  
_It's dark in those eyes you look at me_  
_With a smile that holds promises you kept._  
_I'll extend my hand to wherever you go_  
_So long as you let me know._

_"Why do you stay_  
_Because I die inside?_  
_Why do you try_  
_To get me to run away?_  
_Why do you cry_  
_In the middle of the night?_  
_Why do you stay_  
_Because it's me?_

_"I can't see my own reflection_  
_It shadows my life likea thousand lies._  
_I'd stay alone all my life_  
_If it meant I could protect the world._  
_But you keep telling me to look up high_  
_That everything's gonna be alright._  
_But not today, you say, not today_  
_It's the day your thoughts melt away."_

Then the beat entirely changes, headed to a more intense-type sound.

_"The sun will rise again, you say_  
_But only once can you shine through it._  
_Don't you let that light fade away_  
_And I'll shadow your steps with a smile."_

It then calms down some before the last verse.

_"So why don't you tell me_  
_You're not going away?_  
_Why have you stayed here_  
_Despite all my regrets?_  
_Why can't I say_  
_That I hold you so close to me?_  
_When I'm too scared to say_  
_What I truly want to say?"_

I see Sora smile as the last verse comes up, the beat changing back to the rhythm, his smile spreading as I voice the last verse with him.

_"And why do I stay_  
_When all I do is hurt you?_  
_Why am I trying_  
_To become a shining light?_  
_Because I can't bring myself to say_  
_'I love you' today._  
_Why do I stay_  
_Because it's you."_

Cheers erupt as it ends, Sora swerving in his chair to look at me with a smile. I smile back at him, a woman's voice sounding through the speakers.

"One last time: give it up for Zexion, Saix, Sora and his (A.N.: Oh Olette, how you make me crack up - it's Olette speaking, by the way XD) boyfriend, Roxas!" Both of us snap our heads up and glare in her direction behind the windowed sound room. She waves at us.

To make matters worse - as Sora had told me on the way here - that most of the people here were either gay, bi, or lesbian, so it didn't really surprise me when they started cheering louder, screaming 'kiss him!' over and over. Sora rolls his eyes, sighs, putting a hand on my shirt and grabbing a fistful of it, still sitting on his stool as he pulls me to him, planting yet another one on me today. They cheer, and we both pull back to - immaturely, might I add - stick out our tongues at them before he kisses me again, hoots and aww's flying through the room.

_Well, this is a day to remember._ I think sarcastically. Sora laughs, like if he heard my thought, pulling away to get to his feet as the curtain closes.

_It'll get better._ He mouths quickly to me before everything became a blur of bodies.

~~(-w-)~~

"Hey, Roxas?" He asks as he steps out of the bathroom, towel-drying his spiky hair, which somehow manages to defy both gravity and water, still sticking up. I wonder sometimes if that's naturally spiked.

"What is it?" I ask as I finish writing in the last page of the leatherbound book he'd given me. I close it and smooth out the leather with my hand as he sits down beside me, smelling of soap and shampoo. Instinctively I lean onto his arm, his scent wafting around me.

"Thanks." He says with a smile, hands playing with my fingers idly. "For having come with me today, and putting up with everyone."

"It was nice." I sigh, smiling and closing my eyes. "Felt almost like if I was reliving a better highschool life."

"So you didn't mind what Olette did?"

"Honestly?" I open my eyes to look up at him, finding him looking down at me. "It didn't bother me a bit." He smiles at my words, a hand lifting my chin up as he brushes his lips against mine.

"Be happy she didn't ask for proof about these." He taps the side of my neck with a finger, laughing to himself. "Or, for that matter, tell us to strip and just take each other then and there." I look at him incredulously. "If she would have thought of it, she would have ordered it - locked us in a closet, even, until she was sure we had listened to her."

"She officially scares me now." I laugh nervously.

"Honestly now, I think it wouldn't have been so bad, in the end." I raise an eyebrow, but he just shrugs it off, giving me another gentle kiss. "I want to know." I say once he pulls back again.

"Guess." He lets the thought sink in, and I sit up, pushing his shoulder in the process, but not really out of repulsion - more out of embarassment, since it was a slightly embarassing subject for the two of us.

"Sora!" I sigh, shaking my head. "I'm stepping into the shower." I get up and glance at him, and I swear he's undressing me with his eyes. I stick out my tongue at him, making him smile at me almost impishly. As a joke he chuckles a few words.

"I'd go with you, but I've kinda already gone." I simply roll my eyes as he laughs, closing the door softly behind me. I lean against the door, a hand over my eyes as I pause a moment at the rather fancy bathroom's door.

_It probably won't take that much longer._ I think to myself, grabbing a towel and turning on the water before sliding my shirt off. I look in the mirror a moment, noticing my flushed face and my blonde hair going every which way. _Eventually, we'll crack_. Cerulean eyes flicker, looking back at me, eyes shining with life, unlike they'd been before. _But I think I wouldn't have it any other way._

* * *

Until next time, my minions! XD Ignore that.


	19. Letter of Recognition

Well, sorry for the long wait, I've been cooking up a small idea and I had my besteh over this weekend. But anyways, here it is! OH! And I posted up the picture on my DeviantArt! Go check it out fi you want: my username is Fayne-Darkness (not creative, I know XD)

Reviews time!

To the Poet's Raven: Glad you liked the song! I'm trying to learn to play the piano just to play it when I get bored XD And I don't know... the fountain part just... stuck XD Awww, I didn't necessarily mean something _bad_ would happen. Ah, and I can answer that! She didn't ask mostly because she was too busy laughing/wondering if it was significant XB She never got the chance to ask, but maybe...

To CinamonLollipops: Ahah XD Funny, I always think that when I re-read XD You're probably not the only one wishing for it, so I think you'll get your wish sooner than anticipated.

To Poseidon's-Princess: OMG OWL! =D It's so cute!~

To Tera Loveless Uchiha: Yeah, mine had decided to blow up in my face too XD I hope I got Olette in-character enough though =S I doubt it. And I'm very happy to know that you liked the song =3

To Kirei Ryuusei: Yeah, Zexy's cool =3 And as for Riku... I don't particullarly like him... but I'll try and find him a waitressing job or something (Oh! How about in a SKIRT? Mouhahahaha) Kidding XD

Don't be shy and let me know if you want something to appear in this story. I'll fit it in! Also tell me if you'd like a one-shot/story about a certain subject.

On to Paper Moon!

* * *

**Paper Moon**

**Chapter Nineteen **(HOMGWTFBBQ! So many chapters! XD)

**Letter of Recognition**

_Sora_

I examined the enveloppe carefully in my hands, the seal being completely ignored as I read the _from_ address, my frown deepening. Roxas sits down beside me, still a little groggy from his sleep, scratching the back of his head absentmindedly while he yawns.

"Whazzat?" He asks tiredly, blinking.

"A letter from my grandfather." I say, confusion running deep in my voice as I turn the enveloppe around and break the seal almost hesitantly. I slip the paper out of the enveloppe, opening the letter and skimming my eyes over the scripted letters, each stroke of ink deliberate and quick.

_It is my great pleasure to invite you to the crowning ceremony this Saturday at six in the evening. I will be taking my leave, as I am old, and therefore, I will be pronouncing the new King to the kingdom of Austria-Hungary_ (A.N.: Quick note: I know that Austria-Hungary is no longer allied like that - such a shame - but let's pretend, mmk? The Country-that-shall-not-be-named finally has a name!) _and leave all my worldly possessions to him. I hope you may join me in this event. You may bring one escort - a friend, family member, or significant other._

_-Xemnas _(A.N.: Ahah! His identity has been revealed! Persistant old coot.)

"This is... odd." He mutters mostly to himself. I nod, silently agreeing as I place it onto the table and pass a hand over my face, looking up to the lights on the ceiling afterwards.

"What is he up to?" I ask no one in particullar. Roxas shrugs.

"It can't be that bad." A comforting hand on my shoulder. I nod almost robotically, eyes never straying far from the letter.

* * *

Nevertheless we arrive there shortly after six, both of us wearing semi-formal clothes, I keeping my eyes to my shoes, wishing I could just leave. The sound of fake, I'm-better-than-you laughter rings in my ears as the doorman opens the door for us with a smile. Roxas thanks him gently as I finally force myself to lift my eyes up and to look around me, to see just how many people have come.

My eyes fall over people wearing formal attire, ranging from slightly exposing dresses for the women and various daughters of said pomptuous people, with men in tuxedoes talking to one another, pretending they care about what the other is saying, weighing out if the person they're speaking to is worth their time, worth being allowed to be seen talking to.

I hold back both a snore, a sigh, and the will to bolt out of there as he follows me silently, passing through the crowd and stopping by a small, neglected fountain in the corner. The bubbling sound of the water falling off the rocks into the small pool below relaxes me a little, and I find my shoulders relaxing. I let out a small sigh as I run my fingers through the water.

"I hate events like this." I tell him gently, and over the sound of the badly-played violins, flutes and piano, only he has a hope of hearing me. He smiles gently, watching a fish with golden scales as it swims around robotically through the water.

"I can understand why." He shakes his head, as if to rid his ears of something. "All their fake laughing is grating on my nerves."

I nod, looking out the window nearby a moment, the moon shining through the clouds despite their attempt to block its glow. I look back at him.

"And I bet you half my fortune that in less than five minutes mothers will advance and attempt to bribe me into marrying their daughters, or dancing with them, whichever." He chuckles to himself gently at that, an eyebrow raised.

"Well, you are right about that." He points to his left with his index finger, at where a woman is holding her daughter by the shoulders, speaking sternly to her, keeping her voice low. I make a face.

"Come on." I grab him by the arm and walk quickly to where an open patio door allows a warm, crisp afternoon breeze to enter the ballroom. I step through with Roxas following me, breathing in deeply as he encounters the fresh air, pure and unobtrused by the heat of bodies, the smell they carry. He walks over to the railing, hoisting himself onto it and sitting on it, his back pressed onto the side of grandfather's home, one leg up on the railing and another hanging off the side, swining back and forth mindlessly.

"You were rather quick to escape." He laughs gently. I lean my back against the railing, looking to the stars.

"You've never had about fifteen girls your age hounding you and trying to make you fall for them instantly just so they can become a Queen, have you?" I look at him, a gentle wind brushing aside his hair in his face as he turns his head to look at me, cerulean eyes meeting mine.

"I think you know the answer to that." He looks up to the sky again.

"I rest my case." I sigh, letting my head hang back and closing my eyes, just letting the sounds of the seventy-some people inside drown out, so that all I hear is Roxas whenever he shifts slightly. Feet, probably clad in small heels, sound against the porch floor as I open my eyes, looking to whoever came.

"Well, little cousin, I find it odd enough that you're already hiding out. Thought you would have lasted a little longer." The brownish-red-headded girl standing a few feet away smiles, eyes watching me.

"I didn't want to come here." I tell her flatly. Roxas tilts his head to the side curiously as he looks at her. "Roxas, this is my older cousin, Aerith. Aerith, this is-"

"It's the kid Uncle Ansem was talking about!" She squeals, walking to stand near him. "Cuter than I'd thought he'd be." I shoot her a look, and she steps back from him. Seemingly thankful for the space, he gets down from his perch and puts a little more space between her and him, standing behind me a little. "Though I see he's already taken."

I sigh, hanging my head as she walks back inside joyfully. He laughs softly beside me. I stick out my tongue at him.

"Come on; grandfather seems to want all the attention right now." I make a face, grabbing his arm again and walking into the ballroom, standing just near the door, mostly for the fresh air.

"I would like to thank you all for coming out here tonight." He starts, holding a wine glass gently in his old hands. "It means much to me that you have. I am very sad to have to leave this behind me now, and wait for my time to come. I have had great joy in these seventy-six years guiding this magnificent country through the generations."

They start to clap as he pauses, and he smiles, tapping his glass to silence them again, his glass winking in the light of the chandeliers.

"Thank you. Now, I will move on to the main reason we are here, and present to you with the new ruler of Austria-Hungary." He makes a wide gesture with his hands, face beaming. A hollow feeling creeps into my stomach. _I got a bad feeling about this._ "Please, give your warm grace to our new King, Sora Hikari."

* * *

_Roxas_

He froze, eyes wide as the words clicked in his mind. The guests turn around as his nameis spoken, looking for him, mothers and daughters alike finding him fairly easily - they seem to have had a lot of practice for that - and whispering eagerly underneath their breath. And one by one, they lower down onto one knee, until the talest person is scant higher than my shoulder now. He backs up, as if he wants to escape, his back hitting the wall and making him let out a small squeak. I watch him, unable to do anything.

_He promised..._ I wasn't sure if it was my thought, or Sora whispering the words so gently. He brings his hands to his head, and he lets out a cry that resembles so much a 'no', shaking his head back and forth, tears falling down his cheeks in time with the trickling water on the rocks of the fountain. The guests look up, and seem to be shocked at his reaction. I whip my head to look at his grandfather.

"You promised!" I shout at him, eyes accusing. "You promised him!"

"I have the right to choose, boy." He says coldly, making the wine in his glass twirl across the inside. "I shall not be told what to do by some commoner."

I narrow my eyes at him.

"I didn't ask you for it; _he_ did!" I point out, taking an angry step forward. "_You_ said you would grant his _wish_, and yet here you are, stabbing him in the back! That is not what a normal grandfather would do to their grandchild!" The guests look at me in confusion.

I turn around to Sora as he falls to his knees, shoulder shaking, and I kneel beside him, a hand to his shoulder. He's still shaking his head, whispering a thousand 'no' under his breath. Small whispers come up through the ballroom, and I shoot them all a glare, silencing them. He looks at me from the corner of his eyes.

"Don't worry." I say with a smile, squeezing his shoulder a little. He looks lost, afraid, but most of all, he looks betrayed. "No one'll force you. I promise."

"He has no choice." A stern voice says, and I look up into the penetrating stare of his grandfather. I grit my teeth.

"I won't." He says a little louder, and Sora lifts his eyes up to glare at him. "You know why."

"Because of _him_." He jerks his chin in my direction, almost as if I repulse him.

"No - well, half - but because I know I will only hurt people in the end." Angrily wiping his eyes now, he stands, facing his grandfather off with the coldest gaze I've seen him give. "You ignore Aerith of her rights only because she is a girl, and you think it should be a boy to be given the title, and not a girl. You're a sexist man who doesn't even let someone live their life. But no matter how many times you tell me to take your place, I'll always tell you the same thing." He helps me up. "I will never do it, grandfather."

And just like that, ignoring his grandfather as he shouts after us, Sora pulls me along through the doorway, only breaking down when we're secluded from the world.

* * *

That place turns out to be back at his home, in his room. He sits on the matress, petting Sombra's fur over and over, Luna sitting on his lap and looking at him, whimpering slightly. I look at him as I come back through the bathroom door, having changed out of the annoying semi-formal clothes. He cries no tears, but they shine in his eyes, held back only by sheer disbelief.

"I thought he'd... that he was going to keep it." He says softly, hugging Sombra to his chest softly, burying his nose in the growing pup's fur. I sit down beside him, Luna coming to sit on my lap. I pet her head absentmindedly.

"I can't immagine why I believed him for a second." He says bitterly.

"Because it was a hope you were willing to hold on to for the sake of what you desired." I tell him. He looks at me. "It's not your fault, you know. None of it is."

"I know." He leans his head against my shoulder, letting Sombra jump onto the ground, where he walks to in front of the fireplace, curls up into a ball, and starts to drift off to sleep. Luna follows his example, clambering from my lap. He sighs. "Thanks."

"I'll always be here." He smiles now, tilting his head up to look at me, eyes a little more like I remember them. Stretching his neck, he kisses me for a small, brief moment, pulling back gently afterwards, looking at me, mere inches from me.

We both lean in again slightly, and he brings his hands up to the side of my face, holding me there as he clambers on my lap and pushes my back against the matress, my head meeting the pillow. He remains that way, holding me just about captive there.

* * *

I think I can finish this chapter off here. I'm dreading going to a supper tonight, mostly because there was like over ten people here, and the noise from yesterday really makes me want to just _stay home_ and relax. Here's hoping I can ask my parents to stay here, even though I feel a little bad at doing that. But if I manage to do that, there'll be one or two more chapters today =3

Anyways, wish me luck XD


	20. Changing A Life

Well, there are a lot of reviews this time, so I'll just get right to it!

To PublicPandorum: Shhh! Don't say it, it'll give everything away! =O XD But thanks for the suggestion!

To Scarletnight13: The new fanfic is coming along just great, a few tweaks here and there and a few adjustments should do, because I'm having trouble making Sora the 'bad boy' type XD

To Kirei Ryuusei: I think I'll actually use that Riku in a skirt idea XD Only he'd be wearing it as a dare... hmm... *Cue evil laugh*

To Poseidon's-Princess: I know, right? =.= Homophobes are really annoying =( (My dad is one, which sucks royally, since just because of that he doesn't like my friend who's gay D= )

To wow: Sorry that I didn't do my research before, but I thank you for taking the time to comment and tell me the right term. Can I give you a suggestion? If you would write something like that telling someone a term or w/e, try doing it a little nicer. Some people can really get offended by the way you phrase a comment, and it can really hurt others. Though I guess making it hurt gets the comment to stick. Thanks...

To the Poet's Raven: Mex-san? XD Nice name! I usually call him Mansex though... I'm not sure whether I'm going to put much blood/gore in here. WOO GO AUSTRIA-HUNGARY XD

To Kingdom hearts birth by sleep: Sorry I didn't update fast, my heart almost stopped two days ago and I was kinda stressed out by that fact. Plus one particullar coment struck home for some reason and made me feel a tad bit... I don't know... like if I was a three-year old. But I'm glad I finished this =3

Tell me if you have an idea you would like to see show up in here! I'll make it work! Or hit me with a snowball (seriously, there is enough snow here to do that) if you want a story/one-shot about a certain subject.

Enjoy Paper Moon!

* * *

**Paper Moon**

**Chapter Twenty**

**Changing A Life**

_Sora_

He holds it gently on his lap, looking to the cover page and smoothing his fingers over the cover, seemingly deep in thought when I step out of the bathroom, drying my hair with a towel. He looks up at me as I sit down beside him in front of the fireplace, the reddish glow of the fire alighting his features.

"You alright?" I ask him. He nods with a smile on his lips, cerulean eyes shining with the firelight. He places the leatherbound book in my lap, and I tilt my head at it, examining the cover with my fingers. Knowing what he wants me to do just by looking at his eyes, I open the cover and the first thing I see are graceful yet deliberate ink strokes, disguised in the form of bold black letters, curving gently to the side slightly, his handwriting clear and readable, even in cursive. It's almost as if he put much thought into each stroke, every word a piece of his soul.

"They say that writing a novel is like cutting your wrist and bleeding onto the pages, for everyone to see your soul." He says gently as I turn the page. I smile to myself at his words, placing myself in a more comfortable position, lying down on my stomach. He does the same, watching me as I turn each page carefully, as if they'd crumble into dust.

It takes me a while to read it all, but he doesn't seem to mind. He lies beside me, watching me as the fire slowly dies down, the slight chill of the night creeping onto us. He gets up eventually to stoke the fire, but he lays back down beside me afterwards. I smile as I get to the last entry, which was not too long ago.

_Everyday is always so different now. I'm not really afraid anymore. I'll never get tired of what we do together, nor will I hate it if anyone is disgusted by what we do. I wonder sometimes if this is how my parents lived before I came; happy, not caring for anyone's thoughts, free.  
In love.  
I sure as hell am glad that most of our problems are over, but I know they will never cease. There will always be one lurking in the shadows, waiting for the time when we're at our weakest, at our most vulnerable. But I think that that's okay.  
I've been thinking a lot lately, and I think I will go with my thought. I want to re-write my old, depressing journal, word for word. Just to show the world that there _are_ people out there that _are_ willing to harm someone else. And I will ask him if he wants me to go with that thought.  
But no matter what he says about it, I will stick by his descision. That's for certain._

I close the back cover now, sliding my fingers across the smooth black leather. I look at him, and smile. He raises a thin, pale blonde eyebrow, and I wrap my arms around his shoulders, hugging him. He returns my embrace.

"You can write it." I tell him softly. "I know you're more than okay to do so."

"Thanks."

~~(^w^)~~

"Come on!" I pull him through the large archway, the entire park bustling with activity, families walking around, couples on dates, or just a group of friends on a group outing. Roxas yelps as I tug him into the line, it being rather short, but that's no surprise since it's only ten in the morning and most people just ate breakfast, so they're taking it slowly. It moves rapidly enough as the ride before empties of passengers, loading up with the next fifteen or so. No one goes in the front, so I tug Roxas into the seat.

"You know, I've always wondered how an Amusement Park looks like up close." He chuckles softly, slightly agitated as the bar lowers. He grips it tightly. "And your idea of coming here was rather sudden."

"Well, Olette asked us to come here around five and meet her by the Maze. So I figured we should come early and enjoy all the other rides." I smile at him as the car jerks forward, earning cheers from the nervous teenagers, families and adults behind us. The sky looms closer and closer as we slowly ascent the high angle, this roller coaster being the tallest, fastest and longest of all the park. And this is our first ride, too.

"What is the Maze, actually? And why at five?" He asks, looking around him in awe. Everyone looks small from here.

"The Maze is actually the name they gave the Haunted House, because it's big, with plenty of passageways, traps, and other spooky surprises. And the sun will have set at five. She wants us to go through it when it's dark. I figure Zexion, Saix and her other friend will be there." He lets out a squeak when he see's the entire path of the roller coaster, which actually goes through half of the park. He shuts his eyes tightly as the car tips at the edge, and I bet he's asking himself why we're in the front car.

"Holy _shit!_" He grabs onto the first living thing beside him, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and screaming. I laugh, holding onto the metal bar while he continues to give me a death grip. The speed easily reaches 200/mph, and I laugh joyfully, Roxas risking a peek through a slightly opened eye.

"Come on, Rox!" I laugh. "Open your eyes! If you leave them closed, it gets harder to get accustomed to." He does so without hesitation.

But once we're off the ride, he leans back against the bench, having pressed the fact that he wants to sit down and let the world stop tilting in front of him. I scratch the back of my head.

"Are you sure you're alright?" I ask, slightly turned to the right to look at him. He nods, removing his hand from over his eyes. "You look pale."

"I'll live." He says shakily. "But hell, that was fucking _awesome!_" He laughs, making me think he's delirious. I notice his hands are shaking, and we've been sitting on the bench for the most of about an hour, letting him rest. I notice the time, which reads about eleven twenty.

"You want to go eat something?" He looks at me, nodding. "You seem a bit hungry."

"I am." He admits, stretching his arms over his head.

"Oh! I know!" I pull him to his feet, making sure he won't trip in the process as I lead him to a small stand big enough for an oven, a frier, a fridge, a drink fountain, and a grill. He sniffs suspisciously as I pause in front, the man behind the counter turning around.

"What would you like?" He asks, an eyebrow raised. I smile.

"A large serving of french fries and two Sea Salt Ice Cream." He nods, going off to fill the order. Roxas looks at me.

"Sea Salt Ice Cream?" He asks, his brows furrowed in confusion. I shake my head, thanking the man as he gives me my order, I handing him the money in return. We walk to one of the tables nearby and sit down.

"You'll see; they're great." I say with a grin, munching on the fried potatoes. He laughs to himself for some reason, mimicking my eating style. We soon finish those, and I give him one of the sky blue ice cream bars. He takes a tentative lick as I bite a small piece off.

"Tastes better than I thought it would." He says in surprise, taking another lick. I laugh.

"Don't knock it 'till you try it." he sticks out his tongue at me at that.

~~(o.o)~~

We meet up with Olette around five thirty, having lost track of time for a while. Roxas is swaying a little, dizzy from the ride we just went on, laughing hysterically. I laugh with him, stopping just shy of the four standing there.

"There you are!" She huffs, hands on her hips. I smile at her.

"Sorry." Roxas holds onto my shoulder to steady himself. "It's his first time at an Amusement Park, and we kinda got carried away with that last one."

"Forget it. Sora, you remember Riku, right?" She points behind her to a silver-haired teen talking to Saix and Zexion. I nod.

"Yeah, though it's been a long time. Hey, Riku!" I shout. He turns around, and I wave over my head. He comes over to stand beside Olette. "I want you to meet Roxas."

"Mm, Saix was telling me about him." He grins evilly, and my smile melts. Roxas shaking his head, still trying to see the world straight. "Your little toy."

"My _what?_" I glare at Saix, and he raises his hands up in defeat. Roxas, at that, seems to finally have been able to set the world onto its right axis. He stares at Riku, blinking.

"He told me about that mark~" He teases. Roxas makes a sort of _meep_ sound, jumping in place. "Naughty, naughty Sora." He tsk's. (A.N.: Oh Riku, you sadist.)

"Stop that!" I yell, face flushed. Olette's laughing really hard, bent in two.

"Does that mean you two did the nasty?" He presses. Now I can clearly see Roxas from the corner of my eye, red as a beet - probably like me, too - and we're both shaking our heads back and forth, denials falling from our lips.

"O... okay, Riku. Lay off." Olette sighs, wiping tears from her eyes. He grins victoriously, tip of his tongue sticking out between his teeth. "Let's get going." She turns around, leading the way into the creepy doorway. I glare at Riku.

"I will get you for that." I hiss at him. He smiles sweetly, running to catch up with Olette. Saix and Zexion follow after them, leaving Roxas and I in the rear.

"Interesting... friends you got there." He tells me softly as we enter the creepy doorway.

"You weren't going to call them friends, were you?" I ask, an eyebrow raised. He laughs.

"I was thinking 'perverts' would suffice better, but to be polite..." He shrugs, leaving it at that as we join the others in front of a witch. She cackles as the door closes.

"Hello children." She says in a creepy tone, voice raspy. "Welcome to the haunted house. Legends tell of a family being slaughtered here by a mad killer with a chainsaw. Infortunately for him, he died moments later. Some say that to this day, their ghosts haunt these grounds, cursing and murdering whoever dares to enter their home, seeking revenge.

"You will each form groups of two, and you will be sent down seperate corridors. The goal is to find your group and escape. Alive... if possible." She cackles again, dissapearing in a puff of black smoke. Roxas gulps loudly, already holding onto my left arm tightly.

"Let's find the damned exit." Saix mutters, taking Zexion by the hand and going down a very brightly-lit hallway. It shuts behind them.

Go figure he'd choose the brightest. Olette wastes no time, taking Riku by the hand and going down the slightly-creepy one, it shutting behind them. We both look to the remaining one, it being creepy, dark, with barely any lights. I sigh.

"It's just an attraction." I mutter, either trying to convince Roxas, or myself. I tug a _very_ hesitant Roxas down it, jumping when the way out closes behind us. He lets out a sort of whimper, as white as a sheet.

"You're scared of creepy stuff, aren't you?" I ask. He nods mechanically. I walk to the first doorway, opening it hesitantly with Roxas in tow. It's pitch black, and a funny smell invades my nose. I grope along the wall for the lightswitch, sighing in relief when I find it, flicking it open.

And screaming at the top of my lungs when I see a mutilated body on a chair, covered in blood. Roxas seems to go paler, and I slam the door shut before it can come to life or anything. We stand there, panting and gasping, as if we'd just ran a thousand mile marathon. Hesitantly I open the door in front of that one, it being actually well lit inside. Torches burn gently, hanging on the walls and burning with a blue fire. It's a library with a few shelves filled with books. We walk in cautiously, the door slamming shut behind us.

"Would it had done that if we'd gone in the other room?" He asks shakily. I nod.

"I... I think so." We walk to the shelves. "I bet it's locked now. We probably have to find an alternative." I pull on a dusty book on the shelf, a gear clicking as I do. "Ah..."

"Fuck." He finishes as the bookcase turns, like one of those traps. We turn through the wall into a _very_ dark room, filled with weird clicking noises. I take a step forward, and the room bursts with green light, a door at the end of the small room. Hesitantly I walk to it, Roxas following me just as hesitantly. I turn the rusted doorknob, it slick with a liquid. I dare not look, but I open the door instead, and sigh at the darkness inside it.

"Well, this is getting repetitive." I fumble on the wall for a switch, flicking it on once my fingers find it. I turn around, and to our great relief, we find an exit clearly marked with red, leaking letters. We let out a sigh, pushing the creaky door open to the welcoming night air. Grass is the first thing we see, and it is the first thing we collapse onto, our hearts racing in our ears. He lets out a shaky laugh, and I mimick that, the sky twinkling with stars. "I think we were in there for nearly two hours... felt shorter than that." A firework bursts in the sky.

"What was that?" He asks. I sit up, stretching my arms over my head.

"A firework. It makes an array of colors when it explodes in the sky. See?" I add, as a flaming green one ignites the night sky. I help him to his feet, knowing full well that Olette, Saix, Riku and Zexion are already out. I lead him down a small path, stopping by a smaller field of grass and flowers, where the fireworks can be seen, and yet no one is around. He watches the sky with awe in his eyes, sitting down beside me on the grass.

"All I know is that I _never_ want to go into a haunted house again." He says shakily, leaning his head on my shoulder. I laugh.

"That's for sure." I hold his hands in mine, watching the sky explode with all those colors.

~~(=w=)~~

He pets Luna gently, sitting up on the mattress. Sombra is lying beside him, sleeping softly. I sit down beside him, stroking the dark fur of the pup.

"They're growing fast." Roxas says with a smile, Fluff licking himself clean at the edge of the bed. I nod.

"They'll be much bigger in half a year, too." I add. He looks at me.

"And despite the Maze, I had a great time, Sora." I return the smile he gives me. Letting Luna down so she can curl up beside Sombra, he puts a hand to my jaw, kissing me gently and sweetly. My hands are halfway to his face when we pull back and open our eyes slightly, glancing at each other, mere inches apart.

He pulls back in for another kiss, my hands finding his cheeks and holding them gently, he mimicking my actions, the touch lasting almost a lifetime as he leans back and lets his back hit the mattress. Again, we pull back, but we keep mere inches away as he speaks gently.

"Sora... I-" I silence him by kissing his lower lip.

"Figured you'd ask sooner or later." I say, pulling back a little with a smile. "But... are you sure?" I look at him, and he stares back, landing a small, gentle peck on my lips.

"I always am." Is his answer, but I can't really say no to him. He brings me back for another kiss, this one longer, lingering, slowly going from sweet to rough.

* * *

Ahaha I am SO CRUEL! First torturing Sora & co., and now a nice cliffhanger which suggests...

I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I'll write the next one soon =3


	21. The Highs

Sorry for the long wait! I'm a terrible person, I know, but you'll love this chapter. I promise! To explain why I've been away: One, almost my entire body is now covered in plaques _Hello Sweet Syndrome -.-_! Second, I've been having a lot of hard times with my heart lately (2011 just ain't my year). Third, I got rid of my writer's block on my novel, and I was typing away for a while (it is epic! OwO) And lastly, some of you will know this because you may have gone on my DA, I was doing a lot of crap on that... plus a seven hour long drawing on PaintTool Sai.

Reviews time! =3 (Thank you all so much for being patient!)

To the Poet's Raven: Sorry! You'll get your fill now, though it probably sucks ^w^" Trust me, i hate cliffhangers a lot too, but they're fun to use... And Sea Salt Ice Cream doesn't melt? I never knew... And I think that was my favorite part (other than the haunted house itself) which was when Riku started asking this and that. I was grinning the whole time.

To Kirei Ryuusei: Same. And last time I went in a haunted house, things didn't go down so well...

To ICanHazCheeseBurderRawr: It's sketchy... a little bit of both, I guess.

To Kingdom hearts birth by sleep: I'll feel fine eventually =3 I hope. And yeah, I hate him too.

Anyways, send me a shout if you want something to show on this story (you're all gonna rip me to shreds for the next chapter by the way), or if you want a one-shot. I'll be happy to give it a go when I have time! ^^

Enjoy Paper Moon!

* * *

**Paper Moon**

**Chapter Twenty-One**

**The highs...**

_Seven hours ago_

_Roxas_

He's there again, I can hear them arguing - well, Sora's not yelling as much as he's crying, the sound making me want to barge in there and rip that old fart's throat out, King or no King. But I sit there outside the living room, hands over my ears and forehead on my knees as I try to drown it all out. But still they don't cease.

_"I will not take no for an answer!"_ Fighting for the same thing - why does Sora have to fight to _live?_ To be allowed to do what he wants?

That's Royalty for you. They don't give a rat's ass about what you want.

_"No!"_ He cries out again, voice breaking.

_"Will I have to _kill_ him to get you to agree?"_ Xemnas asks, threatening. But I don't fear my life as he says that. I only continue to worry about him.

_"Don't you _dare_ even try to lay a finger on him!"_ Sora shouts, sounding pissed as hell. I shut my eyes, but the darkness behind my eyelids doesn't help. _"Ever since she died, you've been nothing but a... a pain in the ass! Before she died, you didn't force me! What, did your kindness follow her to the other world?"_

A thud. My eyes snap open at the cry, and I walk mechanically, opening the door wide.

* * *

_Sora_

I knew he'd come in, even as I think _no, don't come_ over and over in my mind. But of course, he likes to not listen to me in these circumstances. He kneels beside me, and I warn him with my eyes to go, but still he doesn't listen as he whispers lowly to me, asking if I'm hurt. I shake my head no, but that's a lie. He knows it, I see it in his eyes. But I can tell he knows that I'm saying it so that my grandfather won't have the pleasure of having hurt me. Glaring, cerulean eyes hard as ice, he turns to him.

"What's your goddamn problem?" (A.N.: Wow, having a cussing Demon in my novel sure helps writing it in here XD) He asks, still kneeling in front of me, between grandfather and me.

"This is none of your concern, peasant." He says, eyes slanting, golden eyes cold and uncaring. Roxas challenges that stare, returning his glare right back at him.

"It's not about his heritage anymore." Roxas says flatly, surprising me. I look at him, but his eyes give nothing away, guarded like the pits of tartarus, lips in a tight line. "And from what I can see, I hit the nail on the head, right, _King?_" He says the word like if he was spitting acid from his mouth.

"Enlighten me." He says, drawling out the words, like if he cares. Probably doesn't.

"It's about your grandson not being 'normal', as you'd put it. Because he's gay." Roxas' lip curls back slightly out of repulsion. "And you call yourself a King. Goddamnit my _father_ could do a better job than you, and let me tell you, he isn't the best man there is."

"Watch your mouth!" Grandfather snarls. He then looks at me. "I don't care at all about the Will. You got one week to either kick this rude boy out of your life, or say hello to the streets." Gathering his coat, trying to probably regain whatever dignity he lost, he stalks out. As soon as the door to the living room slams shut, Roxas sighs, as if he'd been holding his breath, slumping back, his back hitting the wall behind him.

He remains quiet, just staring at the ceiling, eyes flickering sometimes as if he's looking from one thought to the other, eyes always confused and disturbed. After what seems like forever, I say something.

"Say something." I say, but beg could be a better word.

"What do you want me to say?" He asks, eyes turning to look at me from behind golden locks.

"Anything." I look to my hands that are fisted on my knees. "As logn as you say something." _Because when you don't talk, it's as if you're not here._

"Your grandfather's an ass." He says, tone slightly mock-cheerful, eyebrow raised. I laugh slightly at his voice.

"You're insulting a donkey, you know. Even they're better than him." Now he laughs a little, eyes closing.

"What are you going to do?" He asks softly, almost afraid to whisper the words. "I can-"

"Don't." I glare at him a moment. "I've dealt with him before; I can do it again."

"I don't want you to have to feel like you need to do it for me." He looks back to the ceiling.

"Well, too bad." I can just imagine what he's thinking as he sighs. _So stubborn._ "Because I am, whether you like it or not."

"Thought so." We share a smile. "Just don't do something that'll get you killed." I shrug at his words, leaving it at that and just leaning back against the floor to watch the ceiling with him.

"Way to ruin a day, huh?" I ask. He nods once grimly.

~~(.)~~

"Now don't bother me for the night." He mumbles to the dogs, which have grown a little more. Both just curl up in front of the fireplace, sleeping within moments. He sits down hard beside me on the sofa, looking over my shoulder while rubbing his right eye with his hand at my drawing.

"Care to explain?" He asks. I add another shadow to the side of a branch.

"It's a Sakura tree." I say, drawing another falling petal dancing in the air. "They're native to Japan. I hear that at some places you can walk in a litteral rainfall of petals, but they bloom for ten days only, in the Spring, just before it starts to get hot." I add one last, harsh shadow to the grass, putting the pencil down afterwards. I look at it a moment, smiling to myself. "I want to go see it someday."

"I'm sure you'll be able to." He stretches his arms over his head, letting them drop to his lap afterwards. "Hey, Sora...?"

I look at him, but he avoids my gaze. "Hmm? What is it?"

"Do you think he'll do it?" He asks, as if he's afraid of speaking the words.

"What do you mean?" I turn my body to look at him, left leg dangling off the side a little.

"Well, he said he'd kick you out," he starts, looking at me. "And he also said he'd kill me. Do you think he would?"

"Over my dead body." I say confidently, looking down to my sketch in my lap afterwards, fingers splayed as they move back and forth slowly on it. "The killing you part, anyways. He can kick me out for all I care." He puts his hands on mine, and I look up at him, his eyes not far from mine.

"That kindness of yours will be the death of you someday, I swear." He says, lips curved upwards into a smile. I stick out my tongue at him. "But that's alright. I just hope nothing happens that'll drive us apart." (A.N.: *sniff sniff* Is that foreshadowing I smell? Nah, just kidding. I'm not that cruel... or am I...?)

"Again, over my dead body." I grin. He sighs, rolling his eyes and leaning back, hands still on mine but his back leaning on the backrest again.

"Always so stubborn."

"Always so oblivious."

And through his eyes I can see his thought, mirroring mine.

_Always so beautiful._

~~(^.^)~~

(*Evil smile* Enjoy this part~ _Be GRATEFUL! D=_)

**Present time: (Estimate) 11 pm (_Sora)_**

And he's not letting go but that alright, because I don't want him to. Hands slowly exposing the skin of his stomach I'm familiar with, making it long and torturing for him. His patience wears thin, but everytime he's about to complain, I do something that makes him _forget_ his little complaint for a little while.

_Because I'm nervous and I don't know what to do._

And yet my whole body is protesting, telling me to just get it over with already, because, like Roxas, it seems I too have gotten tired of waiting. He opens his mouth to say something but I do it again - a slow, yet hard grind into him, making it more agonizing that we're still fully-clothed. His voice, instead of speaking my name, drawls it out.

"Fuck, Sora, let me... say something." His eyes are closed, but when he opens them, he's unsure too. But not because he's wondering if it's a good idea, but just because we don't know what to do now that we are. "We can stop, if you're-"

"No." I say flatly, lips to his neck as I just let them linger there. "If we don't now, we won't ever. And we don't know if we'll ever get another chance."

"Alright then..." He says slowly, dramatically - I'd stopped whatever I was doing to him for the moment. "Fucking _stop_ torturing me and get _on_ with it."

"Impatient now, are we?" Paying no heed, I continue to slowly remove that shirt of his. A half-growl escapes his lips and he takes control, turning us so that he now has me pinned.

Methinks I made him wait long enough. And I'll probably pay.

"Alright, what're you gonna do?" I ask. He doesn't respond; he puts his lips to mine, hands trailing up my sides underneath my shirt, tickling my sides with the ghost touches. "R-R-Roxas! S-Stop!" I laugh between his lips. He grins, and in one swift move he has it over my head, attacking the exposed flesh with vengeance, probably to make me wish I hadn't been torturing him. Sadly, it works. I squirm underneath him, his fingers tickling me wherever they slide, but not in the way that you laugh. Not. At. All.

"Someone's getting exited~" He sings, but I stick out my tongue at him, gasping as he - God, he just...

"Roxas!" Somewhat against my will I lean into that touch while the complaint falls from my lips, I momentarily forgetting what I was about to say.

"See?" I frown at him, the chill of the night not really biting me as I tug on the bottom of his shirt. He takes my hands away, one of them grabbing my wrists and pinning them over my head, his other still making me whine somewhat in the back of my throat. "We're doing this my way."

"Since when are you on top?" I ask between the gasps I make as he presses down with that hand still between my thighs - making me keen in the process - referring to all the times we ended somewhat like this, but I'd never been in that position, had I?

Hand still holding my wrists as I squirm underneath him, just making that hand of his catch even more reactions out of me. But I don't think I'm trying to escape anymore. His other hand begins a slow process of removing the barrier that's in his way, making my face flush. I turn my head away and look to the wall, embarassed despite myself. The cold does bite this time, making me hiss.

"Roxas, wait-" My words die as he - oh God, he does - and I can't help but help him take it all in, gasping and no longer cold _at all_ as he slowly starts driving me nuts. _How is he such a natural at this?_ I can't help but wonder. He laughs, probably out of my reaction, having let go of my wrists a moment ago, but my hands grab the sheets as he does that, and I can't help it, I _can't_, no matter how little noise I try to make. I let that long, low cry rip from my throat, and he smirks, but he's growing impatient, I can tell.

And he does something - I don't know what - but my back arches and I can't even gasp his name, can't even tell him to _wait_, because everything is so confusing and before I know it he's licking whatever it is from his lips, retracting them from where they previously were, smiling at me with one finger trailing up and down my chest.

"I'm pretty sure that by now, you're tired of waiting as well." He grins.

"No fair." I mumble, throat sore from the cry I'd let out. _What **was** that? _He raises an eyebrow, and I tug at his shirt, hands shaking from whatever high I come down from. "Take. These. Off."

He laughs once, gesturing to himself. "You want to do it, or shall I?" As a response I gain the control again, not happy at all that he'd made me scream his name like that. "Just to let you know, that was-"

"Don't care." I growl, wanting that revenge. I tug the shirt off, pushing him down and peppering him with touches from my fingers and my lips, and though he's almost like I was, he's still bothered by that slow pace.

So before a repeat can happen - or worse - I start tugging his pants down, but God do I not want to do what he just did - I don't want to go there. Instead, not looking, I wrap my hands around it, his back arching as I start with - yet again - a slow torture he grows tired of but he doesn't want to stop me from doing it this time. And though I don't want, I do it anyways, taking it into my mouth as far as I can, and he gasps my name, arching into my mouth, and just to get it over with, I make quick work of that, swallowing every last drop of whatever that was. It tastes kinda good, though.

He looks at me, eyes half-closed, dulled in a way that makes me wonder. "Umm..." I start uneasily, fingers splayed on his stomach, it being slightly shiny with a slight layer of sweat. "Do you..."

He rolls his eyes, grinning. "Lean back." He says, gently. I comply without question, though I know what he wants to do and I'm kinda scared. He kisses my forehead, hands on my cheeks. I relax a moment, but stiffen when a single digit enters, a small cry escaping my lips, cringing from the entrusion. He continuously kisses my forehead, whispering but I don't hear any of it, all I know is that I want it _out._

Eventually it stops being painful, but just long enough for him to slide in another, and here comes the slight pain again, writhing underneath him, tears falling from my eyes as he adds a third quickly after. Kissing them away he continues to soothe me, and it stops hurting again and almost starts feeling nice, but then he removes his fingers and I can't help but pout.

But then that means the pain will come back, cause I _know_ that wasn't the worst of it. The worst is next, and he reads it in my eyes, but he can't stop that fear, we've come this far...

"I can stop." He whispers, hidden tone of voice screaming anything _but_ wanting to do that. "But after this... I won't be able to."

"Just... just do it." I shut my eyes tightly, gritting my teeth and hearing a soft _I'm sorry_ from him before he pushes in, and I scream, I feel it in my throat as I scream, and he stops, having gone in completely, and he waits. His body shakes with wanting to just _do it_, but he waits. He doesn't move. He waits.

Again he continues to wait, eyes somewhat closed in concentration, so as to not listen to what his body wants.

I move once, and a jolt runs up, but it doesn't hurt and that's what matters as I nod, and looking somewhat thankful after two long minutes, he pulls back out, I whimpering at the loss, but he pounds right back in and the feeling of that makes my back arch as another sound escapes my lips, enticing him, his lips finding my neck as he continues to pound, driving me insane with every blow, and I clutch his back with my fingers, nails digging into the flesh and probably hurting him but the pain spurts him on to return some of the pain, but I don't feel pain. Soon his cries join mine - thank the architect of this home for making the bedroom walls soundproof - and it's loud and full of gasping breath as his face remains an inch from mine, his eyes closed like mine and his face flushed. I move my leg slightly, crying out as he hits something that makes me see stars. He notices it too.

"God, Roxas!" I cry out. My back arches as he does it again, chest hitting his as I do so. I feel it again, that warmth I felt not too long ago, and he goes faster at my plea, hitting harder, driving me insane. And when I can't take it anymore, I shout his name, warm liquid on my chest and his stomach as I shout, and he pounds in once more, hard as hell, making me cry out with the feeling as something warm shoots along my insides. He rides out whatever high he's falling from, before collapsing on top of me, barely taking the time to pull out, that's how tired we both are, and wearily he pulls up the blanket.

"Shower in the morning." He mumbles, and he pulls me to his chest, and our lips meet in a gentle, tired kiss before he leans his chin over my head, arms around my waist and falling asleep. I follow his example, one weary thought following me into a dreamless sleep.

_God help you, grandfather, if you try to hurt him._

_

* * *

_

Are you all HAPPY now? D=

I'm kidding =3 But really now, be GRATEFUL!

Roxas: She makes it sound as if we tried to kill her with chopsticks.

Sora: I hear ninja's can do that.

Now the rating will have to change, hurr... but sorry once again for the long wait.


	22. And the Lows

**Well, **If you've wanted to kill me sometime in the past for a chapter that I made one of your faves suffer, now's the time. Cuz you're in for some _silver!_ (*hinthintwinkwinknudgenudge*) And gods I can't believe I wrote a Lemon XD I suck at them, so sorry for the crappyness last chapter. And technically speaking, it was my first one...

Reviews time!

To Kirei RyuuSei: XD Nu! Don't faint!

Well, let me know if you want something to show up in this fanfic, I'm open to all idea's! Or if you want a story/one-shot done on a certain subject, let me know.

Enjoy Paper Moon!

* * *

**Paper Moon**

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

**And the Lows...**

_Sora_

_**A**nd it's so scary, because I hadn't really thought like that until I recovered from the shock and barely had time to -_

The sunlight is the thing that wakes me up, which just shines in my eyes in a way so that it seems to be thinking _alright now you lazy thing. Get up before you die there._ I groan, rolling around onto my side and throwing my arm over my eyes, hissing slightly when a stab of pain shoots at me.

Roxas sleeps on, oblivious to the fact it's almost noon, snoring lightly behind me in my ear. I laugh slightly despite myself, which only causes more pain to shoot up my backside, so I stop and sigh, supressing a yawn soon afterwards.

"God, the sun's gonna burn me if this continues." I hear him mutter, followed by a not-so-friendly curse at the sun, but he sounds half asleep. "You awake, Sora?"

"Yep." I turn around to face him, trying to not show him that it hurts. But of course, how much _that fails._ He sighs, eyes closing a little as he soothingly rubs my hip with his hand.

"I'm sorry." I laugh at that, making him look at me, cerulean eyes incredulous.

"It doesn't matter. It'll pass." Though I don't mention that I can't really feel my toes or my feet for the while. Don't want to add fuel to the fire. He puts his hand on my hair and messes it up further, laughing slightly.

"Should we get up and try to do something productive with our day? Or stay here and just lie here for the rest of the day?" Grinning as he says that, he sits up and stretches, blanket pooling around his thighs as he does so.

"Getting up sounds nice. But for me that might take all damn day, so go ahead without me." I smile. He rolls his eyes, leaning over and picking me up before standing. "Hey, wait!"

"Don't protest." He rolls his eyes, carrying me to the bathroom as I cross my arms, huffing.

"I could've gotten here on my own."

"And let that take a whole day? No, thank you." I stick out my tongue at him. He simply laughs, shutting the door behind us.

~~(^w^)~~

"C'mon!" I pull him along, holding both of his hands as I tow him down the streets, the people barely sparing us a second glance as he somewhat unwillingly follows me, sighing at my eagerness. The September wind brushes by, holding the promise of Autumn but still smelling like summer - basically, like leaves and heat and a bunch of other non-pleasant stuff.

"Where the hell are you dragging me to?" He asks, for the third time. I smile an impish smile, not noticing as he looks over my shoulder at something.

"You'll see." I laugh, jumping up and down as we wait at the intersection for the walk sign. He sighs, just letting me pull him along now, and even though it's almost six the sun is still up, though it's gonna set soon because the sky is a haunting purple, pink, orange and yellow, as if warning the world of something. Again he looks at something on the other side of the intersection, and I notice it this time and follow his gaze. No one stands in front of us, so I can see that he's looking at a man, who is leaning against the side of a building looking right at me. "Umm..."

And then there's that _**CRACK**_ in the air that I'll never forget, because it haunts me so much nowadays; a spray of dark crimson shortly after, as I stumble to my left from hands that pushed me. I turn to my right as the crimson falls, the man dissapearing in the commotion. And it's like that that I think it-

_"It's that easy to erase people from this planet. Erase them from the lives of the people who care for them."_

And it's so scary, because I hadn't really thought like that until I recover from the shock and barely have time to catch Roxas as he falls towards me, the crimson staining his shirt, the smooth skin of his neck, but he doesn't cry out. He only gasps as he holds his right hand to his left shoulder, blood seeping from the bullet wound. People watch, but my ears are ringing as I see the blood.

"Roxas!" I cry desperately, sure he's gonna die. "Why'd you do that?"

"Promised I'd protect you... right?" He smiles, and I grit my teeth, about to reply when he falls limp in my arms and I almost have the urge to scream but instead I just pick him up and hold him to me as I start running, cars and people alike letting me pass, not offering to help.

"Don't you dare die on me." I growl to him as I push past a crowd, running so fast my lungs are gonna explode but I don't care, because he's dying, he's dying in my arms and I don't want that. "I'll hate you forever if you do." Tears bite my eyes, but I hold them out of pure stubborn pride as I push past a confused crowd, entering the emergency doors, and the receptionist gasps as she looks at me and the bloody Roxas, his blood staining my shirt.

"What happened?" She cries out as I pause, gasping for breath. She calls a doctor over and orders him to bring a stretcher.

"He was shot." I say shakily, unwillingly letting Roxas go as the doctor takes him from my arms to put him on a stretcher. He wheels him away, and I watch after him, taking one shaky step towards him, but the receptionist takes me by the shoulder and places me on a bench.

"They'll take care of him." She tells me, whispering it lowly and giving me a concerned look. She looks no more than twenty-five and her nametag reads _Yuffie._ "Don't worry about it. Your friend will be fine." I nod mechanically, pulling my legs up onto the bench and hugging them to my chest, burying my face in my knees.

I remain like that for a while, his blood still on my shirt. Yuffie comes to give me a new one after a while; I thank her and place it beside me, but I don't put it on. I keep seeing the blood, and Roxas knew... that's why he kept looking over my shoulder.

_God, Roxas. Why?_

_"Promised I'd protect you."_ I shut my eyes tighter at the memory of his words, gasping slightly as I try - _and fail_ - to keep the memory of it from my mind. I end up rocking back and forth a little, earning pitying looks from the other people in here, but they don't care, they don't know him like _I_ do. They don't know him the same way we know each other.

He has to live. He just _has_ to. I don't think I could stay sane otherwise. And as I think, we hadn't been seperated like this - so to speak - for so long that it hurts, _God it hurts_, and I just want to cry. I hadn't noticed, but there's an emptyness he fills when he's here.

Yuffie comes back, smiling a little.

"Come on." She says gently, gesturing for me to stand. Some patients look irate that Roxas is the one getting attention, but I don't spare them a glace. I numbly grab the shirt and follow her, sure she's bringing me to see his body, and that thought blurs my vision as the tears ghost my eyes and I have to hold them back as she opens a door with a little window.

The cool air wafts around me and I expect a line of metal tables with bodies, but instead it's a private room, a window with its blinds closed, a tv, a small sofa, and a hospital bed with a blonde angel in it. _My_ blonde angel.

He looks at me, and I run and I don't care for the receptionist as I grab his shoulders and say the first words that I want to tell him - though I make sure not to jostle his left shoulder too much.

"What the hell did you do that for?" I ask, tears freefalling down my face. "Do you have any _idea_ what I would have done if you would've..."

Lifting his right hand, he points to his heart.

"I didn't promise to protect you for nothing, Sora." He tells me, but his eyes are shining with relief and fright.

"If you ever scare me like that again, I don't care what you say, I'll hunt you down myself and slaughter you." I growl, but I hug him, which kinda stops my threat from being effective. Nonetheless he laughs shakily.

"It's funny." He says with a grin. "This morning it was you in some sort of pain," I blush at the memory, "And now the tables have turned."

"I thought you were gonna die." I whisper, head still on his chest, and I hear his heart as it beats, even though the monitor does that, too. I hear the receptionist leave, closing the door behind her. But I didn't miss her smile before she left, the one that said _You two should be alright now._ As if she knew the bond we share. "I would've died, too..."

He laughs once, and I look at him.

"They'll be monitoring me for the next three days, to see if no infection or whatever sprouts." He informs me. I nod, gratefully welcoming the kiss he places on my lips, thanking any damn god around that he's alive.

_He's alive._

"It's scary how quickly someone you love can dissapear." I tell him, and he makes room for me so I scoot beside him on the tight fit and curl on my side beside him. It's not too comfortable but it's more than welcome. "Made me think on how little time we could really have."

He raps the top of my head with a knuckle.

"Stop thinking such morbid thoughts." He says, but he's smiling. "I'm sorry I scared you so much. I couldn't watch him just shoot you. I would've had to kill him, and then somehow find you to shake some sense into you for dying on me." It makes me laugh.

"We're both idiots."

"Idiots do crazy things when they're in love." Is his reply, and I curl up beside him and sleep a little, smiling.

~~(OuO)~~

I'd opened the curtain at some point so we could see the stars a little, and I watch them as he finishes up his snack, while I munch on a straw from the milk chocolate I'd drank. I'm sitting on a chair beside his bed, to allow him to have the space. He'd protested, but I'd insisted. And he agreed, but grudgingly so. The clock on the side table reads 11:11pm, which is really late, but Roxas got hungry a little while ago so I'd gotten him something to eat. Again, he'd protested. Again, I persuaded him.

But I'm trying to make it up to him, because I feel really bad.

"It's 11:11." He says as he glances to the clock.

"Make a wish." I smile at him, and he drinks the last of his own milk chocolate as he thinks. He nods after a while, closing his eyes as he wishes, opening them again just as the glowing green numbers change from 11:11pm to 11:12pm.

"What'd you wish for?" Though I know, because I can read it in his eyes. I smile, crossing my arms loosely on the mattress and leaning my chin on my arms. The bandages on his shoulder peek through the hospital pajama's collar - unlike most hospitals that have those gown's that weren't designed for the comfort of patients' _back doors_ - this hospital has pajama's, which includesa top and a bottom. They're actually very comfortable.

"It's a secret." He smiles, but I read it anyways in his eyes. _I wished that we can stay together, no matter what comes our way._

A night nurse walks in, tapping on the door.

"Sorry, but visiting hours were over a while ago." She whispers. "I'm afraid you'll have to leave and come back tomorrow." I shake my head frantically, but it's Roxas who saves me.

"Forgive me, but it doesn't matter, does it? He can stay here, and we both know it." She purses her lips.

"Very well. Call if you need anything." She closes the door again. I laugh after she's gone into my hands, and he grins.

"Alrighty then. I think I'll go sleep." I yawn, and stand up to stretch. "G'night." I walk around the bed to throw myself onto the couch. He laughs once silently, reaching up for the light.

"Good night, Sor." He whispers lovingly. I stand up a moment - I've changed out of the blood-stained shirt a while ago, really - and we let our lips meet in a small, innocent kiss. He smiles at me as we pull back, and I glance to his bandages a moment, passing my fingers lightly over them, sadness creeping into my eyes. He sighs, puttign his hand over my fingers, causing me to look at him, which he then gives me another little peck.

"Don't worry about it. Think of it as being even."

"But you almost _died_." I whine, voice breaking. "He was gonna shoot _me_."

"We've talked about this." He whispers, and I nod, still unable to _not_ feel guilty about it. But I take his word for it. "And when we get back, you can take return the pain I gave you by taking that bullet however you want." I look at him, blinking, and he smiles, leaning back against his pillow. "I'm sure that'll make you feel better." He closes his cerulean eyes, so I steal him a last little kiss.

"Goodnight, Rox." I grin at a final thought. "And I _was_ right." He raises an eyebrow, even though his eyes are closed. "Your name. Remember when I told you what it sounds like?"

"Yeah, you told me it sounds like _rocks-ass._" He opens his eyes. "And?"

I stay silent, letting him click the pieces, laughing when he sticks his tongue out at me. I lean back against the couch, sighing and curling into a ball, feeling kinda cold since he's not behind me with his arm around me as we sleep.

"You sure you'll be fine?" He asks. I nod, closing my eyes.

"I love you." I whisper, and I hear his smile in his voice, and his voice lulls me to sleep.

"Thought I'd never hear those words again." He says silently. "Love you too, Sor."

* * *

Soooo?~ Do you hate me for shooting Roxas? Huh? Do ya? Huh? Huh?

Sora: So it was _you._ *Evil voice and evil glint in his eyes*

Oh... damn.

***Censored***

Roxas: Serves you right! *Laughing*

*Comes back with bloody face, arms and coughing blood* Shut up. Go entertain Sora, will ya?

Hey, who can guess who shot him? And if it's a stranger, then who _hired_ the man to shoot Sora?


	23. The Unwelcome

Heya again! An-Chan reporting for duty! I'm trying to get back to my quota of chapters, I will try to make a minimum of one chapter a week, but it'll probably be more than that a week.

Anyways, Reviews time!

To Soroku3: Thanks for taking the time to review =3! I agree with that Axel comment though (But I won't say if it was him) and Axel is kinda rutheless. And thank you!

To Willywonka: Thanks for taking some time to review ^^ And gods, Pooh Bear is an abomination (no offense to anyone) and I would see him being hired for two honey jars -.-

To Kirei Ryuusei: Ahah, a lot of people might disagree with you there XD But it's true, Drama makes things so much more intriguing.

To Poseidon's-Princess: Nice guess! And maybe you're right, maybe you're wrong. Who knows? You'll find out soon, I think, depending on how I make the pace go.

Shout at me if you want something to show up in this story, and I'll put it in! Or if you want a story/one-shot about something, let me know. (Gods my Spring break is looking loaded with Fanfiction so far XD Oh, well)

Enjoy Paper Moon!

* * *

**Paper Moon**

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

**The Unwelcome**

_Roxas_

"God, don't just stand there!" I yell at Sora, who's watching me with a grin plastered on his lips, eyebrow raised as he laughs lightly. Sombra continues to give me the death-lick treatment. "Help me!"

"But I like the view from here." He says, voice layered with his laughter. I laugh once momentarily as the dog's tongue runs along my neck, it being all scratchy and a little ticklish. "Although... I'm starting to want to take his place..."

"Whatever, just help me!" We'd just come back from the hospital, in case you're wondering. Luna's barking up a storm near my ear, and Fluff is being the cat he is and ignoring the dogs, cleaning her paw.

Sighing, laughing and rolling his eyes all at once, he pulls the dog off of me, but he sits on my stomach, probably some form of revenge. My shoulder protests slightly at the movement, but it doesn't bother me anymore. Just another wound to add to my collection.

"So, what do ya wanna do?" He asks, poking my nose. Under his breath he mumbles something that sounds a lot like this: "Damn doctor said no physical strains for a week. Damn him."

I laugh at his almost incoherent words, earning a look. I shake my head, and motion for him to get off with my hands. He stays firmly put.

"Hey, just because he said you couldn't have any strain for a week doesn't mean I can't do this." And goes off to nip my ear. I growl, and using my right hand, I put it to his chest and push him off. He pouts.

"You can get your revenge in a week." I poke his side as he sits beside me on his legs. He swats my hand away, sticking out his tongue at me. I just laugh.

"I'll remember those words." He warns. I laugh, petting Luna on the head with my hand.

"I know. You like to hold grudges." I smirk, and he scoffs, crossing his arms.

"I do not." He huffs, not looking at me.

"Sure you don't." I say sarcastically. "And I'm the Priestess of Egypt."

He gives me a majorly confused look at that, but shrugs it off.

"_Anyways_," He rolls his cerulean eyes, the blue within them shining perfectly in the dimming light of the sun. "Wanna go to the porch?"

He doesn't really give me much of a choice as he pulls me to my feet and drags me out, both dogs following us, barking slightly. Pulling us to the railing of the circular porch that shines orange and purple, the wind warm and gentle despite the late summer day. He lets me go so I can lean my arms against the railing, and, like the first day I came here, we stand and watch the sunset, and it's almost the same as back then. Dimly, his voice whispers something, so I listen, but he does this a lot when we come here, so I rest my arms more comfortably on the railing, leaning my chin there and watch the sky as the sun sets, listening to his words.

_"Child, are you willing to sleep tonight?  
__Bearing that heavy sin you carry?  
Walking all alone within the darkness now,  
Forever searching for the one you desire._

_Your eyes they show me the weakness you're hiding,  
Screaming that you don't want to be alone.  
So why, why do you keep on pushing me away?_

_'I'm just looking for a way out of this world,'  
You whisper in the darkness, crying.  
'This place is so lonely now, it's gotten so cold,'  
So why, why do you not keep on trying?_

_If it were up to me, I'd bring you with me,  
I'd show you what lies within light.  
__The light you shy away from every day,  
As if a bitter memory is holding you back._

_And those shackles they call to you as you fall,  
And you answer because that's the only thing you know.  
Falling down won't save you, they hold you back  
While you stand there undecided,  
Watching the world go by without you._

_And the blood pours down along your arms now,  
But you keep watching the world go by anyhow.  
The pain you let yourself feel all alone,  
It shines in your eyes as you cry yourself to sleep each night._

_But still you let yourself be unknown to everyone,  
Figure 'it's better this way,' and just go on.  
Pushing back everyone who wants to know,  
But I will always try to reach you.  
Because my world is held within the palms of your hands now,  
__Tainted red with the lustre of blood."_

I smile softly, just imagining that he's been cooking that one up for a while now, and knowing the melody to go with it, because that's just how well I know Sora. Slow and sad, with the promise of joy; that's the melody he'd put with it.

And it reminds me of how I used to live.

"It reminds me of before I knew you." I whisper. I see him nod out of the corner of my eyes, he leaning his hands on the railing as he stands on his toes, looking to the sunset with glittering eyes. I look more fully at him, resting my ear on my arms, watching him as he smiles.

"I thought of it when I couldn't sleep three nights ago." He tells me. "I was thinking about when we met at the alley, and came up with this." We remain in the comfortable silence that falls upon us as the sun continues to set, the dogs lying at our feet as I continue to watch Sora, who watches the sunset still, eyes shining.

"I almost finished it." I tell him gently. "Word for word. But the ending, it'll be different." I smile up at the setting sun now. "Because back then I thought I knew how my story would end, and now I don't."

"Well put." He laughs once gently. "But you still do." He puts an arm around my shoulder, squeezing it once as I look at him, but he's looking to the darkening sky, the sun almost gone now. "With me."

* * *

_Sora_

I try my best not to jostle him as he sleeps, since he fell asleep on me on the couch, book in hand, pen in another. I put them to the table, placing his head on a pillow, May at the door, looking very much like she's staring at the apocalypse - Zombie one at that. I follow her silently out after I place a gentle kiss on his forehead, brushing back his hair from the skin. I stop just outside the doorway, because he's standing there as I close the door.

"What do you want?" I ask him. He stares at me with unblinking golden eyes.

"You haven't listened to my request." Grandfather tells me. "The peasant is still here."

"He has a name." I tell him sternly. "And, I figured I could ignore your 'request,' which I did."

His lips become a tight line. "You can't be sure he'll live, Sora. It's better to rid yourself of such a weak link-"

"No, _you_ listen." I hiss, hands clenched into fists. "I'm sick and tired of being afraid of you. You won't make me do _anything_, King or not."

"He's dangerous, Sora. He was shot, you could be next-"

"You know something." I narrow my eyes, taking a step forward, right hand grabbing the collar of his shirt. "Was it you?"

"I don't know what you're-"

"Don't lie to me!" I shake him a litle, voice picking up in volume. "I _know_ you couldn't have found out about it from just anyone. And that bullet was aimed at me. What, you were so tired of my 'rebellion' that you decided killing me off was better? Who'd you hire?"

"Let me-"

"_Who'd you hire?_" I hiss, eyes narrowing. "I swear, if it was you, I'll leave you for dead."

"That's a little-"

"Get out of here. Don't come bother me again. If you try to hurt him ever again, you'll _wish_ you would've died with her." With a jerk I let go of his collar. "Don't ever set foot on my property again."

I turn my back to him to ignore his protest, and May walks to escort him out. I step back into the bedroom, closing the door with a gentle, final click. I sigh, closing my eyes against the darkness.

And a sense of security envelops me when he wraps his arms around me, holding my head to his chest. Somehow I'd known he was awake.

"I'm proud of you." He whispers in the darkness. "You stood up against him." But he notices I'm shaking, my arms and hands are captured between his chest and mine, hands clenched into fists as they shake, my entire body shaking a little. But that's because I'm angry. So angry at my grandfather. "It's alright now." I tilt my head up to look at him; his finger lightly brushes my chin as he smiles at me.

"If he tried to kill us..." I say, voice shaky. He silences me with a gentle kiss.

"Don't bother; some people don't understand." He sighs. "It's a shame, because everything would be so much easier."

"But things beind too easy isn't any fun, either." I counter.

"No, that it isn't." He smiles, and hugs me gently.

* * *

I hope you liked it. The song isn't really any song. Came up with it on a whim, actually. I'm gonna write the composition for it someday soon, when I learn how to properly make a music sheet, and any others that I've coem up with in this story =3

Anyways, a glimpse of dark Sora O_o but it's undertandable, I guess XD

See y'all soon!


	24. A Human's Most Primal Fear

Exactly how _dead_ am I? Come on, guys, be honest. A bit? A lot? So dead I don't know the meaning of the word?  
Nevertheless, I deeply apologize for the dead-ness I've been giving off. If you don't know, I've pretty much fallen out of touch with my fanfic spiel, and now write full-time original fantasy, Sci-fi, whatever you want. They're excuses all the same, really. I've also gone and worked on my art, and did stuff related to my novels.  
Nevertheless, I finally complete Paper Moon after so long. So many apologies, and I actually found where I left off with the reviews! Here goes nothing!

**REVIEWS OF AMAZINGNESS THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE YOU GUYS ARE SAINTS WHY AM I NOT DEAD YET?**

**For Demonmaster9090:** It's always nice when people stand up for themselves, huh? Thanks for taking the time to review!  
**For Soroku3: **The identity of the assassin will forever remain a mystery, I'm afraid. Little things to always make you wonder, and truth be told, I intend for it to always remain a mystery! Speculate at your leisure!  
**For TooBishieForYou: **I'm very glad you enjoyed it and it kept you entertained during allergies of doom, and thank you very much for reviewing. I also think it's one of my better fanfics (the others being held at the stake,) so I'm glad it did what I originally intended it to - entertain!  
**For Rizuvel: **First of all, thanks for all the reviews! I hope the wait wasn't too long, and that the conclusion is to everyone's standards (though probably not to expectations.) I'm glad you have enjoyed it thus far, and hope you continue to enjoy it!  
**For Fluffy3314:** I'm glad you enjoyed it, and thank you very much for the review! I hope the wait wasn't too long.

**For all of who have read, favorited, and followed: **Thank you so much for all the support, and thank you all for the time and patience you have given me. This update was long in coming, and I hope the conclusion is to your standards. I'll have more info at the bottom! Enjoy the finale of Paper Moon!

* * *

We've quite a lot to explain for, don't we? Then I guess I should skip the formalties and begin explaining.

I want you all to know that, first of all, Sora and I are safe. We're somewhere we can finally call home, a sanctuary of sorts we can escape to - _have_ escaped to, rather. It was Sora who wanted me to write this so we could send it, since, as he said, he can't write to save his life. I find that to be a bit amusing, but I digress.

I can't say _where_ we are, but I can say that we'll come see you guys when things settle down. We can barely leave the house as it is, what with the manhunt going on for Sora. I guess that's what we both get for deciding to run away and abandon his role as prince. At least now there's no _prince_ and _pauper_ thing going on. Just Sora and Roxas.

I can, however, tell you guys how we got here. What happened to get us here.

Mind you, it included a lot of planning behind everyone's back - including my own.

**WOW LOOK AT THIS FANCY LINE THIS FANCY LINE IT'S THE BEST DAMN LINE YOU'VE EVER SEEN**

About a month after his grandfather last showed his face, Sora requests we go for a drive. Out of the blue, and I'm not even joking. One second, we're sitting in the shade outside, and the next he's dragging me through the yard, prattling almosty nervously. I hesitantly agree to it, of course, more out of curiosity than much else.

The drive is filled with silence, and I peek glances at Sora every once in a while. He'd even insisted on driving us to wherever we're headed for himself, and that's a first. It's almost dusk now - we've been driving for over an hour - and he glances at the clock on the dashboard every once in a while.

Outside, the city has long since given way to the untamed forests, with smaller houses every once in a while peeking through. There's not a soul in sight, although the lights in the houses are on and there is clearly life in them. It's a quaint little neighborhood where you would have to drive _at least_ forty-five minutes to get to the nearest grocery store.

_Sora's been acting weird lately,_ I muse, glancing at him for the millionth time while leaning against my fingers. His eyes flicker sideways for just a moment, catching my gaze, and flickering a smile in my direction. The same usual smile, all teeth shining. _Then again... he's always weird._

"We'll be driving for a while," he states casually, turning left at a fork in the road effortlessly. Clearly, although he doesn't often drive, he's good at it. "Not the whole way, though. Just long enough to loose that." He nods to the rearview mirror, still smiling - although it looks forced. "After, we're switching car and we'll be there within three hour at most."

"Exactly where in the hell are you taking us? Egypt?" I ask, and he shakes his head with a grin, a long pianists' finger agianst his lips.

"It's a secret!" he sings, laughing. "You wouldn't want to ruin the surprise, would you?"

I curiously look in the rearview after he mouths a single, four-letter word - bugs.

For the first time I notice a black chevy trailing some ways away behind us, with tinted windows and its headlights off. No wonder I never noticed it - it practically melts in the darkness.

Sora eases the car into neutral, slowly coming to a stop along the side of the road. There's nothing around us for miles, and the chevy pulls up behind us.

"Now here's the fun part," he smirks. "I've spent weeks planning this part, you know."

"Exactly what am I getting myself into?"

"Just follow me, run, and whatever you do, don't look back!"

"What?"

By the time I speak he's already bolted out of the car, not even bothering with the door as he jumps over the front hood, stepping on its surface to come to a rest on the passenger's side of the car. He flings my door open before I can react or ask any questions, cerulean eyes shining wildly, the smirk on his face. I hear the sound of car doors slamming shut nearby, but he just smoothly unclips my seatbelt with one hand and pulls me out of the car with the other. I cry out, stumbling after him as he runs towards the forest that's giving me shivers just _looking_ at it.

"Stop!"

"Come on, Rox!" he calls over his shoulder, and I finally notice the sense of urgency around him. "You wanted to escape? Here's your chance!"

_After_ I push it into high gear, and he lets go of my wrist when I pull up just behind him to his left, just as we reach the edge of the forest.

"Keep close! We have to run a bit before we get there!"

I loose sight of him for the fraction of a second when the forest swallows him up, but then I'm pushing through it as well, the branches whipping me and clawing at me, but I ignore them all. Instead, I notice the flash of the green hoodie Sora's wearing, so I continue in the same direction he's heading, our feet crashing through the forest and crunching over fallen branches and dead leaves. Every sound is a gunshot.

Not long after I hear the sound of heavier footsteps behind us, sending adrenaline rushing through my veins and making me go even faster. By the looks of the how fast Sora's making tracks, it's doing likewise for him.

There's a brief flash a ways behind us, followed by a _crack_ that reminds me of the sound of the gun that'd shot me, and the bark on the tree to my left flies off in a flurry of splinters. I bring my arm up to my head, barely protecting my eyes in time.

Sora grabs my wrist just before he turns left, probably wanting to get as well acquainted with the gun as much as I do, bolting that way for about five seconds before turning left again, back the way we'd come. Another five seconds later, he's turning left and leading us parallel with the edge of the forest.

Did I forget to mention that the forest, although dark, is more of a plantation of trees? That means they're lined straight, and although it's hard to see in the dark, someone with a flashlight could easily find us.

After fifteen seconds, Sora turns left again and bolts, letting go of my hand. There are no words passing between us, but I think we both need to save our breath. After all, this is a person's most basic and primal fear right here: the fear of being hunted, and of being the prey. Being followed by something you can hear but you can't see, being stalked until they get you. Being hunted by the predator. I don't care who you are or how fearless you are - everyone fears being hunted.

The forest starts becoming more untamed, the trees now less meticulously aligned and more wild, more untouched. Branches now whip us mercilessly and roots threaten to trip us, but we step over those and we're breathing hard but every second is, I believe, a second closer to freedom. To a life without rules, without princes and poverty, abuse and neglect. The footsteps behind us are much farther, but neither of us look back and neither of us stop. I don't exactly know where Sora's taking us, but I trust he'll lead us there.

I can't properly say _how_ long we ran, but did we ever _run._ I ached where I never knew I could ache before, my heart felt ready to jump out of my head, and my legs were like jelly at the end. After all that time running and escaping our unseen predator, we burst through the other side of the forest to a dirt path, abandoned and forgotten. It's a trail that cuts through the forest, winding parallel to the one we were driving on before. A lone, sleek silver car sits in the one spot the moonlight doesn't reach, and Sora digs keys out of his pocket as he makes his way over. He unlocks it without a word, motioning for me to climb in just before he disappears into it, shutting the door. I make my way around the car and get in the passenger's seat, practically melting into it and barely managing to close the door behind me. I don't even have the breath to sigh in relief, and almost forget to click my seatbelt before he starts the engine and speeds off down the trail, gasping for breath as well but still smiling, with the same gleam in his eyes.

"There's a bottle in the back," he states breathlessly. "Help yourself."

I grunt in response, too exhausted to speak, and look around my seat to find what, at the moment, is heaven for me - two water bottles sitting there innocently, the next things on my hit list. I grab both, tossing one none-too-kindly on his lap and unscrewing the cap on the other. I down half of it in one shot, coming up for air only to press the somehow still-cold bottle against my neck with a sigh.

"Explain," I mutter, and he switches to driving with one hand while taking a drink from his bottle as well. "Fast."

He laughs, screwing the cap shut to then relax in his seat a little more, holding the steering with both hands again.

"Every one of the cars back there have bugs," he states calmly. "The security uses that to track the car to its location, so we had to ditch it. I knew we would have been followed out, so I prepared to have this one waiting here for us."

"Will you tell me where we're headed now?" I ask, and he looks away from the trail to smile warmly at me.

"Home," is all he says.

**GUYS. GUESS WHAT THIS IS.**

**ANOTHER LINE.**

Another hour and a half later, and we've left the trail behind for favor of an old asphalt road in the middle of nowhere.

Around the two hour mark, we pass through a small town, not even close to the size of the prison our hometown had become.

Finally, near the three hour mark and countless _"Are we there yet?"_ and _"Have some patience, gods!"_ later, he pulls into a small suburban area with cozy-looking houses who's size can't even begin to compare to the place we've lived in, pulling in the driveway of a house like every other. It's design is a little different - more modern - but it still retains the classical feel to it. He cuts the engine, and we sit in silence.

"So, let's go!" he beams, flashing me a grin that's all teeth again. I just stare at him. "What?"

"If this was so important, why didn't you ask me to help you with all this?" I ask. He bites his lower lip, sighing as if this was the exact question he was hoping I wouldn't ask.

"I knew that it'd be better if only a select few knew about my plans," he starts. "I've worked on this for quite some time - around the time of my grandfather's nightmare of a crowning ceremony - and used a fifth-generation contact to get this place built so my name wouldn't pop up. I had to pay that fifth-generation contact a hefty sum for his silence.

"As it is, only you and I know of its actual location," he admits, smiling sheepishly. "Although I _did_ pull a few favors from friends, initially I'm the person who brought what little was brought from father's place here. Most of the bigger things were delivered."

I stare at him a moment longer, and he creases his eyebrows.

"Please tell me you're not mad."

"Mad at you for planning our escape? For getting us out of that prison?" I ask, trying to make the ridiculous statement clear in my mind. He nods, but it doesn't help. "Key words to remember: escape and prison."

He beams at me, and this time I manage a smile in return.

"Come see!" He commands, all happy-hyper once more, and gets out of the car. I follow after him, barely having time to shut the door before he pulls me along the asphalt. The streetlights catch the glint in his eyes perfectly, all the way until he pulls me to the door. There's the distinct sound of barking coming from the other side, and when he opens it two faces I know well - Sombra and Luna, the Golden Retriever and German Shepherd that have become as much a part of my life as Sora has - bound out, attacking us with tail and tongue.

**EPIC LINE OF EPICNESS THIS IS THE END YOU JUST LOVE MY LINES DON'T YOU?**

So that's what happened, guys. Sora kidnapped me from where we used to live, we fled through a forest I swear gave me a fear of trees and guns - mostly guns, though - and drove three hours just to come to what we've come to call home. I promise that we'll come see you all when things have calmed down, but that won't be happening anytime soon.

Also, Sora got a makeover. It's quite something, and I tease him about the black hair and golden contacts every day - but he does likewise with my darker blonde hair and ice blue contacts. Our appearance is just one thing we had to change. We also go by different names, although those won't necessarily be divulged. Loose ends and all that.

We'll write again soon, we promise.

With love,

Sora and Roxas.

P.S.: Don't even _think_ about asking us if we go at it like rabbits, Olette. I swear, I _will_ find you, and I will slap you.

* * *

Hah, I think it kind of shows my writing style changed, but I'm not here to prattle about that. I'm here to answer little questions I've had asked in my absence.

The main reason why I haven't updated in forever is because I've been writing - that's right, I'm at it again. Writing novels like it's no one's business, taking names and all that fun jazz. This has led me to be TERRIBAD at fanfiction, thanks to the fact that before it was easy to get into the characters' head since there were less voices in my head. Nevertheless, I am determined to finish these fanfics for you guys, so fear not!  
**INCOMPLETE WAS TAKEN DOWN. I REPEAT: INCOMPLETE WAS TAKEN DOWN. I KNOW. I'M PISSED TOO. Also sad.**

I am not dead, as you can clearly see. I frequent deviantArt more than I frequent fanfiction, and you can join me there under the username Fayne-Darkness. You can direct all questions there, and I'll be sure to answer. You can also add my Skype if you'd prefer, I promise I don't bite - I lurk there almost daily, and can be reached there as well. Just add my Skype username, (Remove the parentheseses.)

I'll see you guys when I update next! Thank you for everything, and remember:

There will always be a door to the light.


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